Corner of a Birdcage
by oxeh
Summary: Yuu is a university student that tends to live for the moment. Mika is a cynical superhero that's more super than a hero. Fate is a bit aggressive with intertwining their lives.
1. Angel

"Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a princess named Psyche. Psyche was both very kind and beautiful. She was so beautiful that the goddess of love and beauty, Venus, was so jealous of her that she sent her son, Cupid, to curse her. Cupid was the god of love and he had a bow and arrows that could make people fall in love with anyone. 'Cupid, you must make Psyche fall in love with the most horrible, disgusting creature you can find! This is her punishment for daring to have looks that challenge the Gods!' Venus said."

"Cupid went to make Psyche fall in love with an ugly monster, but when he saw her, her beauty surprised him. He ended up hurting himself with one of his arrows and he fell in love with her. Venus was very mad at her son for not being able to do as she said. She put a curse on Psyche herself so no one would ever want to marry her."

"After her two sisters got married, the king of the land, Psyche's father, went to a fortuneteller for help. He was told to abandon Psyche on a cliff alone. Psyche cried a lot. She lost a lot of hope… But soon the god of the west wind, Favonius, carried her away to a big castle that was the home of Cupid."

"Cupid was the son of Venus and so he was good-looking. However, he had a pair of very big white wings. He did not want Psyche to know who he really was so he made himself invisible whenever he was around her. He told her to never try to see what he really looked like because he would show her when he was ready."

"Psyche was very happy. She was treated well by Cupid and his servants in the castle. Soon, Psyche fell in love with Cupid…"

Yuuichirou trailed off as he plainly looked over the picture in the book that accompanied the text. The book was a new one, but even so it bored him senselessly.

He flipped the pages back to the front, unwilling to continue reading now.

His green eyes scrutinized the cover of the hard covered book skeptically while his black brows furrowed a bit in concentration at the cover art. It was rather colorful and brought a lot of attention to the plethora of characters on it that all practically reached out to the reader. The title sat at the top in bold, eye-catching letters.

' _Classical Mythology for Kids'_

Unsurprisingly, the tale that he just read was one of the first ones in the thick book.

Cupid and Psyche.

He had only turned to this story in particular first because Cupid was among the only names in the table of contents that the young boy was familiar with. The others were too alien, he didn't want to get pulled into reading something strange or boring. Unfortunately, this story ended up being duller than he thought it would be.

Yuuichirou glanced up from the book that he allowed to rest on lap. His thin legs, too short to touch the floor from the chair he sat on, dangled above the clinic room's hard wooden floorboards. His gaze rested on the boy less than a foot away from him on the hospital bed.

Within the room was painfully quiet, save for the low and consistent beeps that came from the machines that ran numerous amounts of tubes and wires from the their sockets to the body of the boy that laid still and silent from his place in bed.

"Were you liking the story? I honestly thought it was crap." Yuuichirou voiced as he sat up straighter in his seat.

His words cut through the silence of the room quickly and received no response. Naturally, he wasn't surprised. He had long grown accustomed to only ever hearing his own voice and only getting the short, meticulous beeps from the weird monitors stationed around the bed as a response to the things he said.

It felt like so long ago that the director of the orphanage had left him in charge of reading to the other kids since it seemed like he was the only one that knew how to read. The others had been abandoned by their parents too early to have ever had a chance to learn while some never even went to school.

Among them, Akane was the oldest after him and she was decent at reading too. However, when it came to story time, it seemed as though all the kids always rushed to him.

Yuuichirou wasn't even sure why. It wasn't as if he put a lot of convincing expression and character into what he read. Despite his own thoughts, he always found it difficult to deny any of them when they begged him to read a particular book or story.

Yuuichirou's attention went back to the boy before him.

He was still silent and motionless. From Yuuichirou's position, he could tell that his eyes were slightly cracked open. However, after being in the room day after day and seeing him in this condition, he knew better than to assume he was even conscious.

Ever since Yuuichirou first came to the orphanage around three years ago, he had been in the orphanage's small clinic room. Like a hospital, it had two beds within it. One of those beds was always occupied by the blond boy and he was always plugged up to some machines and tubes with the weird, clear mask that covered his mouth and nose.

The director had long ago informed Yuuichirou that he was naturally very sickly. He had all sorts of problems from a weak heart and lungs, to nerve issues that had him unable to move his limbs at times.

It sounded horrifying. But when he learned that the excess tools that surrounded him were all there to keep him alive, it was reassuring.

Due to the boy's state of being unconscious nearly 24/7, the other kids had grown accustomed to referring to him as Sleeping Beauty. At a point, Yuuichirou couldn't stop himself from thinking the same too. His blond hair didn't exactly help his case either.

Mr. Sleeping Beauty was frequently visited by adults that Yuuichirou assumed to be doctors just about every other day. At a certain time they would wheel him out of bed in a wheel chair and carry him out with some tubes and needles still in his arms even as he slept. Due to these seemingly sporadic visits, the Director generally tried to keep all of the children of the orphanage away from the clinic room unless they were actually feeling ill.

Yuuichirou found himself to be the exception to this rule from a while back.

Every day he was given permission to read a story or two to the sleeping male for an hour at the most.

He never really saw the point considering the blond was always asleep. However, he did always try to make the most of it whenever he came in.

"Geez, when are you going to wake up and join the rest of us?" Yuuichirou questioned with pursed lips as he rested his elbow on the chair's armrest. He allowed his cheek to rest in his palm as he observed the slumbering male unwaveringly. "Being the oldest around here gets tiring. The director said you were about my age too…" He muttered the last part a bit softer.

There was zero expectation for a response, but he kept going regardless.

"Hurry up and get better, would you? Everyone really wants to get to know you better." Yuuichirou carefully watched the blond's delicate facial features. He resembled some sort of expensive porcelain doll or something. "Especially me," he ended with a slight sigh.

For a brief moment after Yuuichirou finished uttering out the last syllable of his sentence, everything in the room was at its usual harmony.

It only took a few more beats of the heart rate machine before things seemed to pick up in pace. Yuuichirou's eye grew wide as he watched as the boy's left pinky finger give a small twitch. Following soon after it, the other fingers on his hands seemed to give short, near-spasms as though he were fighting to regain control of his body.

Yuuichirou's large green eyes turned to look at the blond's face in wonder. Despite the amount of wild pale hair that covered the frame of his face in an unkempt fashion, Yuuichirou was still able to see his eyes barely cracked open, only teasing an appearance of the male's natural blue eyes as he stared up at the ceiling. From beyond the oxygen mask on his face, Yuuichirou was able to make out the young boy's colorless lips parting slightly, more so than when he first came into the room to read.

A large sense of excitement and urgency suddenly flooded into his body as the Yuuichirou practically jumped up from his chair. "A-Are you waking up!? For real!?" Unable to stop himself, he immediately began rushing to the door, thoughts of getting the director in his mind.

"Guys, I think Mikaela's waking up!" He announced loudly as he made it to the door.

As he made it to the doorway, Yuuichirou paused before giving the male a look over his shoulder with a grin. "I'll be back, Mika!"

* * *

Yuu kept his eyes trained down at the paper within his hands. His pupils practically zeroed in on the red inked, numerical marking to the top right of his test form.

How the actual hell did he get a _67%?_

Sure, he hadn't studied for the test, like at all... But the material had been ridiculously easy. It made no sense whatsoever.

Fuck, why didn't he study?

He resisted the urge to massage his temple as the budding feeling of an oncoming migraine struck him somewhere in the back of his mind.

He had to keep the results a secret from Guren for sure. If he found out he got a 67%, Yuu didn't even want to imagine the inevitable conversation that would go down. Even though he was in college now, Guren still cared for how he did. And although he wasn't on his back as much as he had been when Yuu was younger about his studies, Yuu supposed some habits really did die hard.

Yuu glanced over at Yoichi who was sat beside him in the classroom.

The curly haired brunet was clearly lost in his own world of academics. Next to his test, which had a very beautiful 92% in the upper right hand corner, Yoichi had his notebook for the class where he was currently writing notes. From that, Yuu could only assume he was documenting which questions he got wrong in order to correct them later on.

He was so into his own results that he didn't even bother to ask Yuu what he got on his yet. Of course, that wasn't exactly something he was about to complain about because having to verbally admit his failure would be a blow to his pride.

Up ahead at the front of the classroom, the professor was making announcements for what was going to be on the agenda for next week. Yuu allowed his half lidded eyes to stare off into the distance. He didn't realize how much he'd miss having windows to mindlessly gaze out of when he left high school. College classes honestly felt way more like jail in this aspect.

After a few more painfully long minutes, the professor began to reach the end of his speech and Yuu all too eagerly began shoving his shamed test into the main compartment of his backpack. The loud, familiar sound of shuffling papers and moving zippers sounded throughout the auditorium minutes before the facilitator even dismissed the lecture hall.

Yuu was more than ready to get up from his desk. He slung his book bag over a single shoulder and gazed down at Yoichi as the more petite male only now began packing up his belongings.

"Do you really have to wait until the professor tells us to go to start packing up, Yoichi?" Yuu plainly inquired with an annoyed glance his friend's way.

The other students within the hall all made their ways to the two doorways on either side of the room, but due to the capacity, both sides were blocked up with slow moving people.

Yoichi laughed a bit. "Sorry, sorry!" He finished zipping up his backpack before standing up with an apologetic smile on his lips. "I just find it rude to start zipping up when he's not done talking." With his words he walked up closer to Yuu while they made their way to the exit.

"Who cares? The entire auditorium does it anyways. And it's not like we're in the front or anything." Yuu argued with an uncaring shrug.

His friend came to his right side with a low noise of protest. Even though Yuu kept his gaze fixated down the hall toward the exit out of the building, he could still see the pout the shorter brunet had to his cheeks.

Yoichi glanced up at him with a frown still on his lips. "That doesn't make it less rude, you know!" The male's voice was still so soft even with his exclamation, it was a bit difficult to really know how exasperated he really was.

Yuu met his eyes before turning away with a tired exhale. He was unwilling to bring the topic into a further debate.

Not that he would have even had the time to because the moment the two made it out of the building and stepped outside, Yoichi inquired, "how did you do on the test, by the way? I completely forgot to ask, sorry." He ended with a short, sheepish laugh.

Yuu grunted as a slight twitch came to his right eye.

"We have our health, Yoichi. That's the important thing." He replied back shortly, entirely ignoring the puzzled look his friend gave him at the seemingly random answer. However, before Yoichi could repeat the question or ask him to explain, Yuu reached into his pocket for his phone in order to check the time. "Didn't you say you had work after class today?"

Yoichi's light green eyes widened a bit and Yuu could have laughed at the way realization dawned on his rounded features. "Yeah, I did! Gah, what time is it!? If I'm late again, Tomoe's going to kill me!" He nearly squeaked out as he hastily brought out his own phone. Looking at the time didn't appear to ease his worries and Yoichi's frown grew before he waved at Yuu quickly and turned to go in a different direction. "I'll see you later, Yuu!"

Yuu nodded off at him with a small smile to his lips as he watched the brunet power-walk away.

This was just about their normal Friday routine.

He still had over an hour until next class and he always waited it out in library.

The walk there from his other class' building was conveniently short, luckily. In about five minutes he found himself on the second floor of the library at one of the larger tables toward the corner in the far back.

Yuu pulled out a chair after placing his book bag on the table and brought his phone up. There was a passing thought in the back of his head that urged him to take proper responsibility and go over his test as Yoichi had done.

He should look over the ones he got wrong and correct them so he understood where his faults were. If he did that then in the future when his midterm and final for the class came up he'd be more prepared.

The thought now made him pause as his fingers hovered over one of his phone's apps.

Yeah, that's what he should do.

He'd do it…

With that in mind, he placed his phone down to the side in order to open his bag. He brought out his test along with the chemistry notebook. He prepared to get a pen and highlighter out too, but his green eyes went back to his phone.

… After he checked up on what was happening in the Internet world and what not.

It'd only take about two minutes to scroll through some people's posts anyways.

However, two minutes turned into twenty minutes and those twenty minutes soon threatened to turn into forty-five minutes.

Yuu found himself entirely consumed in a plethora of funny short videos. With his headphones now in his ears after he watched the first one, his original intention had just been to see one short six second puppy video, but… When he finished watching that one, he had to click the one below it.

And so on and so on.

The videos were all random and ranged from puppies and kittens doing silly things to people reenacting 'relatable' situations in exaggerated ways.

It was embarrassing how funny he found all of this.

He tried to stifle a laugh as he watched a kitten frantically attempt to catch light from a laser pointer only to stumble over itself.

"Do I even want to ask what you are watching, Yuu-san?"

Yuu nearly dropped his phone in surprise at the voice that felt as though it was nearly in his ear. His fingers scrambled to get out of the app and switch to his 'safe' one, the local news app. At the same time, the female who presented him with the question in the first place leaned back from her sudden place over his shoulder to stand up straighter.

As he whipped around to view her, Shinoa stared at him plainly, but the amusement in her eyes was evident to see.

In return, Yuu gave her an annoyed look in an attempt to hide his mild shame. "Geez, Shinoa. Can you not creep up on people like some kind of stalker? I wasn't watching anything." He lied blatantly through his teeth despite himself.

He was only a bit embarrassed about it because he knew she'd end up teasing him over it more than he deserved. She had such a habit of doing that with virtually anything. At a point, Yuu assumed that was just Hiiragi nature given how her sister behaved just the same at times.

From beneath her lavender colored bangs, the petite girl looked back at him entirely unmoved. "The face you make when you're caught doing such 'Yuu-like' things never ceases to entertain me. Please, never change." She lightly stated while walking around the table to sit across from him.

Yuu scowled at her. "I wish I could tell you the same, but there are a few parts of _your_ personality I wish you'd work on— hey! What are you doing!?" He questioned out as she suddenly snatched his test from before him.

Shinoa's brown eyes evaluated the sheet for a brief moment before they lingered on the score to the top corner. Yuu grunted as he stretched his arm over the table in an effort to get it back and in the process, his headphones fell out of his ears.

His friend simply pushed her chair back a bit to avoid his incoming hand. "My, my… You really bombed this, didn't you?" She rhetorically inquired with a shake to her head.

Yuu felt his cheeks grow slightly warmer as he tried to get the paper back. Fortunately, she handed it back civilly and he roughly pulled it back under his bag with a pointed glare.

When they were in high school she used to be much worse about it. Thankfully, as they grew up, Shinoa was less immature about teasing him over his occasional D or F.

She fanned her face with a dainty, pale hand. "Yuu-san, you need to start taking your classes seriously. If you don't, you will be forced to drop out and live the rest of your life as a beggar. You don't want that, do you?" She gave him a plain look that he returned with an irritated stare.

"You're so annoying. It's literally my first bad grade of the semester. I'm human, bad grades happen. Big whoop. I'll just do better next time." He voiced with a slight huff as he turned away from her.

Shinoa leaned her head into her hands as her elbows propped up on the table. "Maybe so, but wasn't that your first chemistry exam of the semester? If you're not careful that's just a sign of things to come." Her words came out in a sing-song kind of way that nearly made Yuu roll his eyes.

"Thanks for believing in me."

"I believe in you. But I also believe you're the type of person that rather watch pug videos instead of study the periodic table."

Yuu squinted. "Do you know anyone that _isn't_ that type of person?"

Shinoa paused as she rethought her words before she shrugged. "Okay, point taken. But the fate of the world could be at stake for you to just go over basic molar conversions and I can just see you procrastinating on it to watch some kittens cuddling on a six second loop."

He said nothing more. His attention now averted to his phone where a new notification popped up.

 _Area in the northern Kichijōji district shut down due to Horseman attack._

Before he had a chance to think more of it, Shinoa's voice called to him. Yuu looked back up at her curiously.

"Yuu-san, you should skip your next class and go shopping with me." Shinoa voiced seriously and Yuu raised a brow up in questioning. She leaned back in her seat. "I need a new lab coat for microbiology," she explained with a nod, "I won't go into detail about what happened to my original one, but the sleeves are severely burnt. Also, it couldn't hurt to do a bit more clothing shopping anyways, right? I'm sure you need new pants or polos or panties or whatever it is you're into, I don't know."

He gave her a flat look that she ignored before continuing. "The campus store is ridiculously overpriced and you know how much it physically pains me to give this institution more money than I'm required to. So are you down?"

Yuu leaned his cheek into his palm idly. "Well, I have my lab next class, but I can afford an absence I guess. My lab partners should have my back." He then paused to glance down at his phone. "Oh, if we're shopping, let's avoid the Kichijōji area, there's some Horsemen of John threats happening there right now."

Shinoa tilted her head to the side slightly with a hand now to her chin. "Oh?"

Yuu clicked the article for any updates on the situation and as he skimmed it, he wondered if Archangel would show up to take care of the situation. If not him, he supposed the police would… He'd been hearing a few things about them coming closer to developing adequate gear for fighting the monsters lately.

His thoughts were voiced out loud by Shinoa not too long after they crossed his mind. "Maybe Archangel will deal with it. Hopefully he does before any casualties occur," she shrugged a bit, clearly not caring too much for the conversation.

For some reason, Yuu kept it going regardless. "You know… I've never really put too much thought into Archangel, but when you really think about him, he's really shrouded in mystery, isn't he?" He hummed a bit with a thoughtful look up at the ceiling.

Originally considered a vigilante by authorities, it soon became very apparent that Archangel's activities weren't exactly restricted to taking down criminals. He had weird powers that actually enabled him to take down the grotesque monsters that were called the Four Horsemen of John.

"No one knows where he even came from… Do we even know when he first started popping up?" Yuu lowly muttered out.

The amount of time it took him to reach a situation that was usually too big for the police ranged from five minutes to hours. Sometimes he wouldn't even appear at all. But whenever he appeared, it was fast and he left as quickly as he showed up.

Like a typical superhero, he wore a mask that thus far shielded his true identity. It didn't help that he also always had on a white hooded cloak that covered the rest of his head too.

Lots of rumors circulated about him. Some people believed that he was a demon or something else and as ridiculous as the claims were, Yuu couldn't necessarily blame them for thinking that oddly… Some of the stuff Archangel did was physically impossible for a human to do.

Not only that, there were two early instances of him having a pair of large, white bird-like wings. There was no photographic proof of it, but the stories were from two survivors that were saved by him and claimed to have witnessed it with their own eyes. The moment the stories hit the Internet, they went viral and the nickname Archangel was stuck to him.

Even with those accounts, Yuu was pretty sure the police still regarded him as 'human' for some weird reason.

"It's been like three years and we still have no idea what he looks like." He stated as he began to move his thoughts to the hero's potential identity.

Shinoa arched a brow. "If you're so curious, perhaps you should go to the Kichijōji district and hope for Archangel to sweep you off your feet amid his fierce battle with the Horsemen." She dreamily put a hand to her forehead with a blissful look. "Ah, yes! He'll scoop you up in his arms and shield you from harm's way after defeating the ferocious dragon and carry you off the battlefield like a prince rescuing his princess!"

Yuu grunted in irritation. "Don't confuse your weird fantasies with mine."

Without missing a beat, his friend shot him a sweet smile. "Oh, Yuu-san… So young and so naïve. Someone as beautiful as me doesn't have to 'hope' for anyone to sweep me off of my feet. If I ever desired it, I'd have a million boys, girls, and everyone between and out-tween fighting for a chance to be my knight charming!" She took a moment to return her hand to her chin thoughtfully as she went over her last words. "Knight charming… Or is the correct term prince in shining armor? Hm…"

"Shinoa, I know I tell you this at least three times a day, but you're really fucking weird." Yuu deadpanned.

Shinoa didn't acknowledge his words in the slightest. She stood to her feet and placed her bag over her shoulder and looked at him with a smile. "Now then, shall we go shopping?"

* * *

Eight stores.

They had gone through eight stores so far.

And not a single one of them was a store that would be likely to sell lab coats.

At this point, Yuu was positive that Shinoa was looking for everything _except_ a lab coat.

In the past three hours he's felt a wild range of emotions that ranged from helplessness to flat out sorrow. It felt like puberty condensed into a more concentrated time frame, except he certainly wasn't getting any random boners.

Following Shinoa around like her own miserable, five year old child as she browsed through racks of clothes in all levels of the triple floored Forever 21 to awkwardly standing in the perfume section of Victoria's Secret while she gushed over a 'Buy Three Get One Free' panty sale—yet she took _forever_ to choose which ones to buy and something just told him she did it on purpose to make him squirm. He had nothing but regret on agreeing to go shopping with her.

"Oh, no. No. No! No more!" Yuu now exclaimed as he watched her prepare to walk into another clothing store.

Shinoa stopped walking to turn and look back at him. Around them, other pedestrians passed by, some occasionally bumping shoulders with either of them due to the limited space on the sidewalk. Shinoa raised a brow. "What's your problem?"

" _My_ problem? What's yours!? This is store number nine, Shinoa!"

"Actually, considering I've only bought three things, it's store number four. Visiting a store doesn't count if you don't buy something from it."

"It damn well does count when you spend _20 minutes_ looking through the clothing racks!"

"It's 20 minutes, not 20 days. Take it easy. You sound like Micchan." She blandly retorted and Yuu groaned with his hands gripping his hair restlessly.

In frustration, he glared at her. "Can we just get your lab coat and then get something to eat? You're killing me slowly."

Shinoa sighed while holding her hand out for him to give her back her shopping bags. Yuu immediately obliged while she gave him a plain stare. "I already told you earlier Kimizuki and Micchan are going to be at that American restaurant you all like for lunch. They said they'd be there soon, I was just going to browse through here real quick before going… You'd enjoy this trip more if you looked for stuff for yourself anyways. You following behind me like a pouting child while I shop will give people the wrong idea. They'll think you're my son." She paused with furrowing brows. "Or worse… They'll think we're _dating."_

"That's it. I'm getting the fuck outta here." Yuu remarked as he turned around to walk away. He then paused to rethink Shinoa's words before exhaling heavily. "I'm going to find an ATM. I'll be back," he informed her simply with a look back.

Shinoa pointed at the store she'd been seconds away from walking into with her index finger and a blank expression. "When you're done, I'll be in here if you need me."

As he walked, he wondered why he was even bothering. He knew the amount of money in his account was going to be pitiful at best.

He might as well considered himself a psychic because after getting to one of the machines, his balance was only ¥ 565.62…

Yuu groaned as he took it all out from the machine.

"Stupid Shinoa… Inviting me out while I'm broke…" He muttered distastefully and ignoring the strange look the person behind him in line gave him as he walked off a bit.

Honestly though, he really needed to get a job. He was still living off of Guren like a child. It didn't help that Guren wasn't that flexible with the amount of money he deposited into his account each month.

With that thought in mind, he pulled out his phone while he stood to cross the street alongside a small crowd of pedestrians. He opened up his messages and began to type one out to his adoptive father.

 _From: Yuu_

 _Not to sound like a brat but im in desperate need of more ¥¥¥¥ if you get what im saying… please_

Right as he prepared to exit out the app and he started walking across the street along with the crowd, his phone vibrated and a banner notification showed him a new message from Shinoa. He quickly tapped on it.

 _From: Shinoa_

 _Don't go to the store I was at. Mitsu called me and said she and Kimizuki are already at Deep Fries_

He quickly replied with a brief 'alright' before he focused himself on the mild walk he had ahead of himself to get there.

More or less, ten minutes later Yuu found himself stepping into the restaurant and his eyes actively searched toward the front of the place for his friends.

He instantly managed to spot Kimizuki due to both his tall stature and striking pink hair. He quickly made his way over to the booth his three friends were already seated at and he plopped down beside Kimizuki with a grin.

"Hey, guys!" Yuu greeted cheerfully.

Shinoa sat in front of him with her eyes scanning the menu entirely unbothered, Mitsuba was to Shinoa's left and she gave Yuu an acknowledging nod in greeting whereas Kimizuki gave him a slight irritated look as he was forced closer to the wall. "Careful, idiot. You nearly sat on me."

Yuu prepared to retort, however before he could, Shinoa clapped her hands with a glance up. As all eyes on the table moved to her, she smiled sweetly. "Everyone, I have wonderful news. Today, I will try the 'Triple Bacon and Cheese Heartshaker' as opposed to my usual order."

Her words were met with exasperated looks from her peers and Mitsuba distastefully looked at the item her index finger pointed to on the menu. "Drink a liter of chicken grease and I guarantee you'll get the same bodily results."

"I've had the TBCH before." Yuu remarked. "It doesn't really shake your heart, but after you get about halfway through, you have to swallow really hard and drink lots of water or juice because it feels like some of the food is getting stuck in your chest! It tastes really good though, I recommend it!"

Shinoa frowned. "Sigh. Forget it. I suppose I'll just get my usual order."

"Thank you for announcing that." Mitsuba sarcastically stated and right after her sentence ended, a waitress came by ready to take their orders.

After getting everything and assuring them their food would be out very soon, she left and that was when Yuu gave a whine as his face pressed against the table.

His friends watched his display with dull eyes while he groaned. "The fact I could only afford a soda is so messed up. Ugh, I'm going to starve."

Unlike what he expected, his words weren't met with sympathetic gazes.

"You only have yourself to blame for your poor money management."

"Learn to budget better and you wouldn't have this problem."

Yuu glared at both Mitsuba and Kimizuki irritably whereas Shinoa brought her gaze to her phone while she tapped away on it. "I don't understand how you're always so broke when you don't even live on campus." She stated airily.

Yuu pursed his lips as their drinks and food arrived. He attempted to ignore the overwhelming aroma that came from all their food and instead stuck a straw into his drink with a bit more force than necessary. "Not all of us can be rich like you, Shinoa." He claimed with disdain before taking a long sip of his cola.

Kimizuki gave Yuu a slight exasperated expression. "Though that's true, your bad management is a part of the reason you always wind up like this. Also the fact that you're still depending on your father for money instead of getting yourself an actual job."

His words admittedly had a degree of truth to them and Yuu grunted as he stubbornly looked away. After taking another sip of soda, he exhaled tiredly. "Listen. It's not like I haven't been trying to get a job. I just stopped since the semester started since no one was hiring me before anyways."

At this, Mitsuba twirled her straw within her lemonade, a reflective look in her lavender eyes. "To tell you the truth, I can't even imagine you with a typical part-time job anyways, Yuu. Retail and customer service… Just doesn't seem like your thing." She placed several of her chicken wings onto Shinoa's plate while Shinoa placed about half of her burger and half of her fries to Mitsuba's plate.

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

Shinoa glanced up from her fries. "Aha! I can definitely see Yuu-san being a waiter at Yoichi's place! Perhaps the uniform wouldn't be the most flattering on him—"

"Wow."

"—But the thought of him spilling hot coffee everywhere can't escape my mind! I think that's the perfect place for him! Perhaps it is fate for him to learn true grace there?" As she ended her words with a slight giggle she pushed her plate toward Yuu.

His green eyes instantly widened as he looked up at her questioningly. Shinoa didn't return his look and instead moved closer to Mitsuba as the two shared a plate of food now.

Gratefully, he clasped his hands together and bowed his head in their direction without a word before he began eating.

Kimizuki cleared his throat after a couple minutes of silence at the table. Yuu as well Mitsuba and Shinoa glanced at him curiously.

"To continue the work discussion, I just got a text saying I have to pick up a closing shift." The hardness in his tone was unmistakable and Yuu blinked. "At the repair shop or the pet shelter?" He inquired and he earned a short glower from his friend as he ushered for him to get out from the booth.

"The repair shop, obviously. When am I ever upset about picking up a shift at the shelter?" Kimizuki muttered the second sentence a bit lower, his cheeks flushing a bit. As he moved out from the booth, he slid his remaining plate of fries and half a sub toward Yuu's side of the table.

Yuu noticed and immediately flashed him a smile. "Thanks! Aww, you guys are so nice to me!" He laughed out as Kimizuki tsked. "What was I supposed to do? Throw it away? Anyways, next time don't go out to eat when you know you don't have money, idiot." He nodded off at Mitsuba and Shinoa before departing.

Yuu returned back to his seat, his hand dipping a few fries into his ketchup before he looked over at Shinoa curiously. "Would it be stupid of me to ask if you got your coat in that store you went in earlier?"

Shinoa smiled cutely. "No. But I bought a really nice pair of jeans and that's what really matters."

"I am never going shopping with you for anything ever again."

The pigtailed blonde beside Shinoa snorted as she wiped the corners of her mouth delicately. "What on Earth even possessed you to go shopping with her in the first place? You already know how she is."

"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean, Mitsu?" Shinoa inquired with a challenging smile to the female beside her.

Mitsuba returned the look with a plain stare. "You know exactly what it means. You're insufferable whenever you go shopping and you know it."

Yuu watched the two begin to quarrel in their usual routine before he found his ears perking up at the name 'Archangel.'

He blinked his eyes as he concentrated a bit on the conversation to the booth beside them. He glanced over at the two girls that appeared about his age, eating and clearly talking about Archangel.

"Apparently Kichijōji has an all clear given because of him."

"That can't be right. People on my feed are saying that the police handled everything…"

"They're lying! My cousin was in the area! He said he saw Archangel with his own eyes!"

"What? Seriously? Did he at least get a picture?"

"Hello, Yuu-san? Are you there?" Yuu blinked rapidly as he returned his attention back to the two sitting in front of him. Mitsuba shook her head while Shinoa put a hand to her mouth. "Oh, my. I can't imagine how far deep your mind must have been for you to space out while staring at those girls like a creep…"

Yuu grunted, his eyes glaring at her in aggravation. "Shut it." He took a sip from his soda with a stubborn look away, unable to meet her eyes. "They were talking about how the area from before got cleared because of Archangel is all. I just wanted to know if everything turned out okay," he murmured.

The blonde at the table made a low noise as she placed a fry within her mouth. After chewing and swallowing, she reached for another. "Even though he's been around for a few years now, everyone's suddenly becoming so obsessed with Archangel, I swear."

Her words were like a lighter to ignite the overdramatic queen that rested in the shorter teen at the table.

Shinoa grinned with a mischievous look Yuu's way. "Well, why WOULDN'T anyone be obsessed with him?" She questioned with her arms extending outward. Mitsuba groaned when one of Shinoa's hands nearly smacked her between the eyes. "I'm positive he's sporting thick, beefy muscles under that cloak of his, he's obviously tall, he has that typical bad boy-intimidating yet comforting demeanor, apparently his hair is so long it flows luxuriously in the wind, and he has the pure white wings of an angel! Anyone lucky enough to reproduce with him would have little cherubs floating around! And isn't that the American dream?"

"We're Japanese." Yuu replied shortly and Mitsuba gave her companion a half lidded stare. "I don't even think Americans have that as a dream."

Unbothered by their less than impressed reactions, Shinoa let out a small laugh before looking at Yuu kindly. "Yuu-san, may I please see your phone?"

Suspicious, Yuu squinted his eyes at her, but his hand went into his back pocket regardless. He first pulled out his Swiss Army knife and placed it on the table, earning an incredulous look from Mitsuba and a blank look from Shinoa.

"What is that?"

"Your phone, Yuu-san. I said your phone. Not your weird looking dildo."

Yuu flushed a bit as he brought out his phone and handed it over to Shinoa before picking placing the multitool back in his pocket. "It's a Swiss Army knife! Not something dirty!" He pursed his lips while looking at Mitsuba defensively. "Guren got it for me like a month ago after we lost our can opener. It has a bunch of tools in it… I just keep it in my pocket for emergencies, you know?"

The blonde skeptically nodded at him and Yuu furrowed his brows. "Don't look at me like that!"

After a minute or two of her typing away, Shinoa turned the screen around to both him and Mitsuba. "My friends, this is an artistic depiction of Archangel. After eyewitness accounts and a bunch of blurry photos, this is what we get. Isn't he beautiful?"

Apparently, he had blond hair, though it wasn't nearly as long as Shinoa's little speech made it seem to be… And honestly, even though it was just a 2D image, Yuu would be lying if he said he didn't find it the least bit attractive in a way.

Still not moved, Mitsuba shrugged her shoulders. "His mask is a total turn off… It gives me Pyramid Head vibes if I'm being honest."

Yuu bit into his burger and if he hadn't been chewing, he probably would have retorted to her words in a better way than Shinoa ultimately did.

"Micchan, you should know that it's what's on the inside that counts. After all, there's no way someone like him doesn't have a big cock."

Yuu found himself choking on his burger while Mitsuba groaned with a hand to her face, though even Yuu could see some of the blush at her cheeks. "Shinoa, can you please not say stuff like that so loud when we're in public."

As he tried to get the burger down properly, Yuu coughed up a bit before settling. Shinoa silenced herself and after a couple minutes, she returned Yuu's phone to him.

Without a second glance, he slipped it back into his pocket.

Shinoa then moved to grab hold of Mitsuba's arm while she pulled herself closer to the blonde. "My precious and beautiful, Mitsu… If you had to choose between marrying Archangel or I, who would you pick? I must know." She seriously remarked and Mitsuba's cheeks burned red as she tried wiggling Shinoa off to no avail. "I'd pick neither of you!"

Their usual routine continued like that as Yuu dully watched as he finished the remnants of his food.

After a few more minutes, the two finished up and they were able to leave the restaurant.

As they stood outside, Shinoa tapped her foot. "Guys, I still need my lab coat, you know."

Both Yuu and Mitsuba released heavy sighs in unison that instantly made Shinoa squint at them.

"I'll help you look, but I swear if you don't find one within the hour, I'm leaving you—"

"That's perfect! Let's not waste time!" Shinoa exclaimed, not even waiting for the taller female to finish. Excitedly, she grabbed Mitsuba's hand before dragging her off with the blonde complaining about it from the moment she was pulled. Shinoa glanced back at Yuu pleasantly. "Yuu-san, hurry up or you'll be left behind!"

If Yuu was being honest, being left behind didn't sound so bad in that case.

He tiredly let out a breath, unable to just leave his friends even in this sort of situation. He prepared to follow after them and he found his phone vibrating wildly in his pocket.

 _Guren is calling you…_

Seeing the name, he swiped the call right in order to pick up before placing his smartphone to his ear. "Hello?"

"So what's up with you begging me for money when I just put some into your account a couple days ago?"

The man on the other line skipped the greeting entirely, jumping straight into what he wanted. Yuu long ago got accustomed to Guren's mannerisms like that which most would consider rude. He just saw it as straightforward at this point.

"A couple days ago? Guren, it's been _three weeks._ " With his words, Yuu kept walking ahead, his eyes still able to see the two moving purple and yellow heads of hair not too far in front of him. He walked through the crowd on the sidewalk with his phone pressed against his ear a bit tighter.

"Oh. Has it really?"

"Yes, really."

"Well, it's your fault for not budgeting properly, I bet."

Hearing those familiar words that his friends struck him with not too long ago made Yuu grunt as though an arrow pierced him. He cleared his throat before stubbornly claiming. "That's not the case!"

On the other end of the phone, Guren audibly snorted. "Do you feel no shame from begging your daddy for money even though you're nearly 19?"

"You know damn well it isn't my fault no one was willing to hire me! I actually tried job hunting for months!" Yuu exclaimed with annoyance dripping from his tone.

"It has to be your shitty, bratty personality stopping you from getting hired then."

Yuu narrowed his eyes. "If an asshole like you can get a job, I should be able to get one too." He saw Shinoa and Mitsuba walk into a clothing store. As he got closer, it didn't appear to be one that would have a lab coat for sale. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he stood stationary by the exit to wait for them.

"Glad you think so because after you turn 19, you have to get a job. I already paid for your first two semesters, at least with a part time job you can cover the books."

Yuu scowled, his eyes gazing up at the sky stubbornly. "Whatever. I don't need any extra money anyways."

Guren scoffed, amusement was clearly heard in his voice. "Yeah, right. If you say so." There was a pause before he continued. "So how did your classes for today go?"

Leaning back on the wall behind him, Yuu inquired. "Oh? Do you really care?"

"Obviously, since I'm the one paying your tuition."

Yuu said nothing more and after a couple passing seconds, Guren went on. "Okay, okay. Of course, I care. I'm concerned about your progress and wellbeing, dummy. This semester isn't too much for you so far, is it?"

It was times like these that Yuu really felt a lightened connection between him and Guren. Obviously, the two loved and cared for one another, though the average person would sooner see them as adoptive brothers rather than father and son. Not that he could blame them due to the age difference between them. Regardless, when Guren showed concern for him, it reminded him that he was really lucky to have a family that cared for him.

It only took another second before he recalled Guren's question and the facts he got a terrible test score back as well as skipped his last class just to shop with Shinoa.

"E-Everything's fine…" Yuu shakily replied.

"Uh-huh." Guren said, his tone clearly indicating he knew Yuu was holding back the truth. Thankfully, he didn't pry deeper into that. "Anyways, I'm going to be spending the night at Shinya's, so don't worry about me not coming home, alright? I left some stew for you in the fridge, that way you won't go hungry tonight for dinner."

"Alright, I gotcha." Yuu stated right before Guren told him bye and hung up.

Yuu did the same and placed his phone back into his pocket without a second look, his attention returning back to the shop that Shinoa and Mitsuba still hadn't come out of.

* * *

From the instant Shinoa got her receipt for her lab coat, Yuu's thoughts had been on getting home. He already planned to study his ass off with chemistry all night until he was positive he understood everything he got wrong.

The study plan had worked out, especially considering he'd left his phone downstairs when he first came in.

Eventually, he went on to study and do homework for his other courses and as he did so, the remaining hours of the day unraveled before Yuu even knew it.

It took a few hours into the night until he felt hungry.

After heading downstairs and checking the fridge for the food Guren had left for him, he placed it in the microwave before inspecting the refrigerator and the freezer for any juice or soda. His results came up short to only half filled jugs of both water and milk towards the front shelf of the fridge.

As the microwave began ringing to signal his food was ready, Yuu weighed his options.

He really felt like drinking juice or something with his stew, not water and certainly not milk.

There was a convenience store practically down the street from his house anyways. He left the kitchen to go to the living room where his phone was situated on the longer couch. He picked it up and pressed one of the side buttons to view any potential notifications he missed.

His mind was nowhere near the pile up of text messages, a majority of which came from his group chat, or on the few notifications he had from the likes of Snapchat or Twitter…

Instead the only thing he could focus on was the picture of Archangel that was currently his lock screen.

Yuu grunted, instantly knowing that Shinoa had to be the cause.

He quickly unlocked his phone and had to resist the urge to groan at the fact even his home screen was white cloaked superhero.

 _From: Yuu_

 _Youre so fucking annoying_

After his words he sent two screenshots of the two pictures she'd left him with. Almost instantly, he received a reply back.

 _From: Shinoa_

 _Lmao_

Smug little asshole.

He decided not to give her the satisfaction of an outraged reply because honestly, that would only make her feel the need to tease him more.

He grabbed his phone and wallet from the counter before heading out, already resolving to use the card Guren designated for 'emergencies only.'

Technically, this was an emergency in its own right.

He knew Guren wouldn't even be pissy about him using it to get juice or anything anyways since it'd serve for the both of them anyways.

As he walked down the street, Yuu turned his attention to his photo album where Shinoa had managed to save at least 10 different drawings of Archangel. All of them were in different styles, but the general look on him was the same. He wasn't even sure why he was entertaining it instead of deleting them off his phone.

His outfit looked super impractical, but cool in an aesthetic sense at the very least.

Yuu swiped to the next picture.

Looking at his mask really made him wonder what he looked like underneath it.

He supposed everyone's expectation was for him to be super handsome.

"Please, someone help me!"

Yuu's steps came to an instant halt as he saw a woman stagger out from an alleyway up ahead. She looked around the empty road frantically and when her eyes landed on Yuu, she rushed toward him quickly.

He froze, attempting to get a feel for the obvious impending situation at hand as the woman looked up at him with panic on her features. Her breathing was both shallow and forced, instinctively causing Yuu to grip her shoulders gently, but firmly in an effort to keep her upright. "Are you okay, Miss!?" Yuu questioned.

He attempted to be calm, but he kept a certain energy to his tone, already prepared to act in some way.

She had to be older than him, somewhere in her mid to late 20s if the maturity on her face was any indication. Her wide, violet eyes stared up at Yuu pleadingly, nearly erasing whatever years of experience she had over him and causing her to appear like a vulnerable child. "M-My brother! He's being attacked by some weird man! I need help! Please!"

At her words, Yuu nodded urgently. "Where is he!? Come on, take me to him!" He insisted, his mind moving into overdrive and his thoughts of going to the store entirely forgotten.

Without wasting another breath, the woman began leading him down the same alley she had emerged out from.

Yuu followed behind her, his fists clenched at his sides as he felt his heart rate increasing with the passing second. It only took a couple of seconds down this darkened passageway before the unnamed woman before him made a turn to her left.

They were away from the street lights and the only thing that illuminated the second dark alleyway that she stood at the opening of were the moon and stars. This alleyway was narrower than the initial one they came down and it appeared to lead into a dead-end… Or at least Yuu assumed so because he couldn't see beyond it at a point.

Right before that darkness at the end of the alleyway, he could make out two silhouettes. He didn't have much time to process everything as the woman beside him spoke up.

"I'll go find someone to call the police!" She exclaimed before running off fearfully. Yuu didn't even watch her go, his eyes were trained up ahead as he willed his eyes to adjust better in the dark.

Yuu was already mentally prepared for a fight. He was capable of taking down a mugger.

He took a step forward and opened his mouth to inform the assailant he was going down, but before he could utter a word out, his suddenly found his feet swept from the ground and his body slamming into one of the brick walls of the alleyway.

In surprise, Yuu released a shout when his back was met with the solid concrete behind it. Pain shot through his body, but he barely had time to register it as he came to realize there was a hand at his throat. He winced as his eyes opened to stare ahead at his attacker.

"This guy barely looks 16…" The male that had his hand clutching Yuu's throat tightly voiced in disappointment. His dark brown hair fell over his piercing red eyes that immediately made Yuu grunt.

His hands moved to grasp the male's wrist as he attempted to tug his hand away desperately to no avail. The male's grip was unyielding. "L-Let me go, you—Argh!" He managed to gasp out before exclaiming when he felt the older man tighten his hold for a moment.

In the back of his mind, Yuu began wondering if the woman's brother was okay or if he'd been killed already. Trying to maintain focus despite the fact his breathing was slowly being cut off, he tried to look around, but right as he tried to do so, his aggressor continued. "I guess Marie decided to bring your meal first. She always plays favorites with us." He scoffed before dropping him.

Once he was free, Yuu's first and immediate thought was to take down the man that had choked him, but faster than he could blink, the brunet was replaced from his vision with another, older looking man. Yuu found his arms being thrusted over his head and against the wall behind him so quickly, he could have sworn he heard a snap.

He cried out in pain. "W-What the hell is wrong with you!? Let me go, you fucking bastard!" He struggled to free his arms, but found it stuck against the iron grip this man had over him.

His mind flashed to the army knife he had in his back pocket. If he could only reach it…

The second male that now dominated his vision laughed lightly. Though he looked nothing like the first man, the two both shared those near-glowing scarlet red eyes. The man averted his eyes from Yuu to glance over his shoulder at his darker haired companion. "It's late out, you should know your type rarely walk the streets alone at this time." He turned back to Yuu with a smile as his hand gently stroked the flailing male's cheek. "I love them at this age… Teenage blood is so much more flavorful."

Yuu felt his body freeze up in horror at his words, his struggles falling to a standstill.

Blood…

That meant that these two were—

"Ugh. Male blood isn't even that good." The first brunet remarked from his spot on the other wall as he watched the two with bored eyes. "Well, it _is_ good… But the blood from females is even better. Men can't compare." He corrected.

The male hovering over him allowed Yuu's arms to drop as he gave his companion with a slight pout. "Male blood is fantastic, especially from adolescents."

Taking this opportunity, Yuu's arm swung into his back pocket in an effort to fish out the Swiss Army Knife toward the bottom of it. He didn't even hesitate, he brought out whichever tool he could before stabbing the male before him with it.

In surprise and mild annoyance, the brunet before him turned to look at the bleeding wound he now had at his collarbone and Yuu prepared to go in for another attack.

However, before he could even properly raise his hand, the dark haired vampire that had been on the other side of the alleyway was at the pair with amazing speed. He snatched the weapon from his hand with great ease in order to inspect it closer.

Yuu had no chance to even protest as a single second later, the man he'd stabbed powerfully kicked Yuu further down the alley with an incredible amount of strength.

He'd have probably had more airtime if he hadn't crashed into the dead-end wall with a strong amount of force. His vision threatened to entirely black out and the pain that executed throughout his body was instant. His chest felt like it was being crushed.

Breathing hurt so badly, but he was desperate for air after the collision.

He still tried to move and get up, to push past the pain and face his attackers. He refused to die like this.

In between his thoughts and trying to cope with the newfound pain in his body, he hadn't even realized when the male that kicked him approached him once more.

"F-Fucker… Stay away from me..." He grunted out hostilely. Despite himself, he mustered up the dirtiest glare he could manage, but it was only met with a smile as light haired brunet stooped down before him.

He cupped Yuu's face with an open teethed smile, displaying his sharpened fangs. "You're a feisty one. I can tell your blood will taste delicious."

Yuu felt his eyes widen as the man moved his face toward his shoulder. He pushed aside the collar of Yuu's jacket and shirt and placed his mouth at his skin to the point Yuu could feel his attacker's eerily cold breath on him.

Anger quickly flooded through his system as he willed his body to move despite the pain he was in. He grasped the male's hair within his hands desperately and tried as hard as he could to move him, to no avail.

"Get the hell off of me, you fucking monster!" He snarled out breathlessly before his hand clenched into a fist and he began hitting at the male's head as hard as he could. "Fucking drop dead!" He desperately seethed.

He refused to die here. He couldn't.

His seemingly feeble attacks only earned him airy, mocking laughs from the two men within the alleyway. That only served to further his frustration and anger.

Yuu immediately stilled with widening eyes when he felt the man's teeth make contact with his body.

"That's enough."

The teeth that had grazed at his exposed skin pulled back along with the male over his body.

At the newfound voice, Yuu glanced up beyond the body of the man that had him trapped between the wall and ground.

Even in the darkness of the alleyway, his green eyes instantly grew wide in shock. He had mostly become adjusted to the lack of light and there was no mistake about it.

Standing only several feet away from them at about the midpoint of the alleyway in all his white hooded cloak glory was Archangel.

Yuu felt his breathing stop altogether.

"How annoying. Can't you wait for us to finish our meals before harassing us?" The dark haired vampire questioned with a slight smirk on his face.

He leaned off the wall behind himself whereas the lighter haired brunet stood up from over Yuu.

With the overbearing weight finally off of him, Yuu felt a bunch of relief, however, his focus was entirely placed on the male that not too long ago Yuu had been looking at as only a picture on his phone.

This couldn't be real.

"Don't think we're stupid." The brunet remarked as he took a step away from Yuu. "We knew you were trailing us basically all day." His hand went to his side where he pulled out what looked like a switchblade of some sort.

Yuu grunted lowly as he tried sitting up. His eyes remained glued on the three men ahead of him stubbornly.

It didn't seem to matter anyways because faster than his eyes and brain could register, the two men charged at Archangel who already brought out what appeared to be his sword.

The sound of clashing metal filled his ears and Yuu winced as he attempted to keep up with the fight.

All three of them were moving inhumanely fast, it was near impossible to tell much of what was happening when combined with his throbbing and dizzy head as well as the lack of light in the alleyway.

"What's wrong, dog boy? Krul got your tongue?" One of them taunted out.

"Go back to the fucking Underground city and tell that bitch that we'll drink from the source whenever we please! If she wants to stop us, how about she gets her useless ass off her throne and try it!"

In between the arrogant words being tossed, Yuu struggled to pick himself up from the ground. He used the wall behind him for leverage and right as he tried straightening up, a strange sound hit his ears from the fight commencing only a few feet away.

When he looked up, he gasped a bit, an action that caused his chest to cry out in protest painfully.

Archangel's sword swiped through the neck of one of the aggressors and before the body or decapitated head had a chance to hit the ground, they disintegrated into what appeared to be ashes.

Before the remaining male could even bring up his own blade for defense, Archangel's sword whirled over to him before it swung downward and managed to sever an arm.

The brunet growled before he took a jump backward to create distance between the two of them.

From this position, the vampire was a closer distance to Yuu, however he had his back turned to him in favor of facing the white cloaked male that just sliced off his right arm. On the other end, Archangel took a couple steps forward in order to plunge his sword into the dismembered limb. He twisted it into the ground before his sword shimmered red and it began to crumble into ash around the weapon.

He hissed dangerously after having glanced down at his wound. His red eyes flashed dangerously as he regarded the silent blond in nothing but contempt. "You fucking bastard!" He snarled out before charging forward at him once more.

Yuu's eyes grew as a movement toward the opening of the alleyway caught his attention.

The woman that had originally led him there was standing there. And a sense of relief and happiness flooded through him as he recalled how she'd gone for the police earlier. However, as he saw her raising what appeared to be a gun and with no noticeable law reinforcements, he felt his blood rush cold.

"What the hell are you doing!?" He found himself shouting out, his chest immediately hit him with a bunch of pain for moving so carelessly.

His words were practically drowned out in the short lived gunshot that practically filled the walls of the alleyway they were in.

Yuu watched with horror as Archangel visibly staggered, having been shot in the back. Still, he had no time to recover as the vampire before him relentlessly attacked, now taking an opportunity to stab him near the heart.

The blond pulled away, the dagger in his chest remaining even after he managed to kick his opponent into the alley wall with an unyielding amount of strength, which caused the concrete to both visibly and audibly dent.

Archangel removed the dagger from his chest without a flinch before he threw it at the vampire that was still stuck at the wall. As the vampire dissolved into ashes, the male now turned to face the female that still had her gun aimed at him.

She smiled at him sweetly, her violet eyes practically shining beneath the new found moonlight from above. "You're a mid-to-close range fighter. Against an opponent that works far-ranged, you a lot of opened space to utilize your speed." She pulled the trigger, igniting a loud shot that caused Yuu to wince in surprise. "Unfortunately for you, there's not too much space here."

Archangel easily side stepped it, but the woman let out a laugh. "Let's see how long you can keep dodging!" She rushed forward at him with an amazing amount of speed comparable to the first two vampires and her gun raised.

Numerous amounts of gunshots rattled throughout the as she tried to land a second hit, though the blond dodged each gunshot expertly.

20 seconds probably went by, but to Yuu it felt like an eternity, before Archangel gave a frustrated grunt when his shoulder was shot, the stalemate between the two finally ending. He clutched his wound painfully, the fresh red blood easily staining his white cloak.

"You're starting to feel the effects of the first bullet, I see. Your body must be feeling sluggish now, huh?" The brunette acknowledged with an amused smile to her face. Though she received no reply, she continued, her eyes bursting with arrogance. "These bullets have a special spell engraved on them. If they get stuck in your body for a certain amount of time, they work to shut down your body for several hours."

From his spot at the end of the alleyway, even Yuu had to take in her words with a large degree of horror. Fear threatened to overtake him as he watched Archangel desperately.

Still silent, the hero released his bleeding shoulder in order to take an offensive stance with his sword.

"Don't worry about your body shutting down though. You'll die before you get that far!" She exclaimed before she ran forward with blinding speed. She appeared behind the blond faster than Yuu could blink.

He prepared to gasp out a 'Behind you!' in warning as she prepared to pull the trigger with the gun aimed at his head, but Archangel turned just as quickly, his sword slicing through the female's hands as though they were paper.

"Idiot," he coldly voiced and before her limbs could even touch the ground, Archangel whirled around to kick the female into the wall opposite to the one her comrade had been sent into only moments ago, the only difference appearing to be that the impact this time was delivered with less force. "Between the two of us, you're the only one that's dying tonight."

The male took steps to walk toward her before he brought down his sword to slice her body in half even as she attempted to get one last pleading word in.

Just as her two comrades, her body disappeared into a flurry of ashes that practically evaporated into the air.

And with that, the only two beings within the alleyway were Yuu and Archangel.

The sense of adrenaline in his body from witnessing the battle before him hadn't left the dark haired male's system and he tried to find himself. His mind began pulling itself back into reality as the fact that he was now safe started to settle.

It was all over now… Archangel saved him.

As that thought dawned upon him, the woman's earlier words of the bullets shutting down his body returned to Yuu's thoughts. He blinked as he now watched Archangel begin to stagger away, out of the alley's narrow passageway.

"H-Hey!" He found himself calling out to him shakily. His voice cracked a bit and he tried clearing his throat as the Archangel continued going ahead, his walk visibly weakened to a wobble. Yuu prepared to call out to him again, but he found with widening eyes that the male reached his limit as he collapsed to the ground near the exit of the alleyway.

Yuu grunted. "O-Oi! You— You can't just…!" He trailed off as he tried rushing over to his fallen savior, but he had to pace himself as he was instantly given a reminder of his injured ribs when he attempted to move too quickly.

As he reached Archangel's side, Yuu reached out to pull him upward, but to his surprise, the blond practically growled and moved away from Yuu's hands as though they were poison. "Don't touch me." He hostilely barked out, catching the male off guard. "Just go away." He hissed out more lowly this time and Yuu hesitated now.

"I… I can't do that." He argued after a couple of seconds. "She said you'd be out for hours, you can't stay here. I'm taking you home with me, alright?" Yuu decided on firmly. "You'll be safe there, I promise."

He expected another statement of refusal to come from him, but when he got nothing, Yuu leaned over as though to get a better view of the male's face even though it was shrouded by his mask. "Oi… Did you hear me?" He questioned while rocking his shoulder lightly. "My house isn't far from here and I'm going to be there alone until tomorrow evening… It'll be okay. I promise to make sure nothing happens to you."

When he still didn't receive an immediate reply and a few more seconds passed by, Yuu then realized the hero fell unconscious.

He takes a moment to take a deep breath— and he is rewarded with that sharp, brisk pain in his chest— before he tries to consider everything.

Even though his house was close by, there was no way he could manage to carry Archangel there on his own. Not only because of his weakened physical state, but there was running the risk of the two of them looking incredibly suspicious and him getting the cops called on him.

He tried to consider his options.

If he couldn't walk home, he'd need someone with a car to drive him there.

Instantly, he went into his back pocket for his phone. It was a pleasant surprise to see it completely unscathed, especially after how he got a bit roughed up within the past several minutes.

After going to his contacts and pressing one of the numbers in his Favorites, he placed his phone to his ear. As it rang, his eyes went back down to Archangel who was still unmoving.

It only took ten seconds for Kimizuki to pick up, but given the situation he was in, to Yuu it felt like years.

"What is it, Yuu—"

Yuu didn't waste any time. "Hey, listen, Kimizuki!" He exclaimed as powerfully as he could. "I have an emergency on my hands right now and I desperately need your help! You know the convenience store that's on Hatsudai? Think you can head down there right this second and come pick me up?"

Kimizuki's voice seemed filled with confusion and a bit of annoyance as he replied. "Wait… Isn't that like two minutes from your house?"

"Yes, but by walking, especially with how I am right now, it'd take me an hour to get home." He impatiently voiced before his voice softened considerably. "Please hurry up and get me if you can. This is an actual emergency and you're the only one that has a car that I can trust." He pleadingly voiced.

His friend was silent on the other end of the call for a brief moment as though he were attesting Yuu's words, however, before Yuu could speak up again desperately, Kimizuki sighed heavily. "Alright, I'm on my way right now. Give me like ten minutes."

"Thank you, Kimizuki." Yuu breathed before ending the call. He placed his phone back into his pocket and tried to calm himself down once more.

He was alive, Archangel was alive, and Kimizuki was going to come get them. Everything was going to be okay.

Realizing that there was no way the car would be able to come down the alleyway, so Yuu had to be prepared to at least carry Archangel to the vehicle, Yuu worked to pick him up.

He grabbed the male's good arm, minding the fact that his other shoulder was darkened with blood, and pulled it over his shoulder.

Yuu counted down to three mentally before he attempted to stand up with him. Due to his chest being in such a sensitive state, he grunted in pain at the newfound weight on him and Yuu found both him and Archangel stumbling onto one of the alley's walls. He tried to keep a tight hold on Archangel to prevent his body from completely slamming onto the asphalt below them.

Gently, he attempted to lower the blond down to the ground once more.

As he did so, he came to notice how much blood he was covered in. Though Yuu wanted to believe most of it was the blood from his opponents from earlier, he knew it wasn't.

Don't freak out. He couldn't start panicking now.

Yuu placed Archangel's head onto his lap after he kneeled back down.

He slowly took off his jacket before pressing it against the wound at the male's chest where the blood still appeared to be flowing from. He pressed it against his body firmly before his gaze returned to the male's face that was still majorly obscured by his metallic mask.

A fleeting thought of removing his mask came to mind, but Yuu quickly brushed it off. Instead, he pulled the male's white hood back on before he gazed further back into the alleyway where the battle from only minutes ago took place.

Though the woman's body turned to ash, her weapon didn't.

Carefully, Yuu removed Archangel's head from his lap before he staggered back up to his feet in order to get the weapon that laid unsuspectingly in the middle of the alleyway. He observed it briefly, his fingers feeling about it before he found the safety button. When his results came up short, he gave a 'tsk' before placing it in his back pocket regardless.

It was obviously too dangerous to leave out there anyways.

He then went over to where his Swiss Army knife had been tossed before placing it in his pocket as well.

Yuu returned back to Archangel's side. He placed his head on his lap once more, his hands pressing his jacket to the unconscious male's chest firmly.

He didn't know how much time went by, but when Yuu began to feel as though Kimizuki would be nearby soon, he worked to get both himself and Archangel up again.

"Work with me this time." He muttered, though he knew it'd fall upon deaf ears as he worked to get the blond's arm over his shoulder once more.

Yuu tried to maintain his breathing shortly and gave a quick mental countdown before he stood up to his feet with Archangel's dead weight leaning against him. Gravity threatened to tip the both of them over, but he tried as he could to stay upright.

"If you can pull a dagger out of your chest without flinching, then I can carry you a couple steps…" He murmured mostly to himself, recalling the actually very badass scene from before. He began walking the two of them out from the dead end alleyway, out to the wider, dark passageway that ultimately led out to the streets.

He walked toward the end that was closer to the convenience store that had been his original destination not too long ago, but he remained within the shadows of the alleyway in case any pedestrians were walking by, potentially catching sight of him and the unconscious blond on him.

Tiredly, Yuu leaned the both of them against the wall behind them. The cool temperature of the building honestly felt unbelievably good on his skin. He hadn't even realized how hot he was until now.

A couple minutes probably passed by in silence as Yuu remained in restless thought before his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. The buzzing nearly caused him to jump a mile in his own body with how sudden it was.

Quickly, he picked it up, having already seen the Caller ID.

"I'm in front of the store, where are you?" Kimizuki instantly questioned before Yuu even had a chance to say anything.

Yuu perked up as he now began slowly moving himself and Archangel closer to the road ahead. "Drive down some, I'm in one of the dark alleyways." He honestly informed him.

"… Do you understand how fucking shady that sounds? If you killed someone and expect me to help you dump the body, I'm driving off before you make me an accomplice."

"Don't be such a dumbass." Yuu grunted painfully as he stopped right by the edge of the passageway. As an afterthought, he hesitantly added. "I do have a body though."

"Fucking hilarious, Yuu." He received in reply before Kimizuki hung up abruptly.

Yuu clicked his tongue in annoyance before glancing back at Archangel. Due to his hood, Yuu couldn't see any of his hair, mask, or the bottom of his face. Despite that, he couldn't help but smile a bit.

He was saving a superhero after all.

Kimizuki's car slowly pulled up, but it was obvious he hadn't seen Yuu, so the dark haired male found himself barely stumbling forward with Archangel and his hand raised up for him to stop.

The car halted and Yuu hurriedly rushed to the backseat before he practically tossed Archangel's body in before him with a surprising amount of difficulty. He hopped inside after him and swiftly slammed the door behind him, taking note that there were still a few people on the sidewalk that saw him.

He pushed that thought to the back of his head as he looked forward at Kimizuki urgently. "What are you doing!? Drive!"

Kimizuki watched back at him in what appeared to be disbelief, confusion, and even some worry. "Yuu, who the _FUCK_ is that!?" He practically shouted out.

Yuu grunted. "Archangel, now just drive, idiot!"

"W-What!?"

"Drive! Quick!"

Despite himself, Kimizuki obeyed him, though even as he went down the road, his eyes continued looking at the rear view mirror with evident anxiety at the two in the backseat.

Yuu brought a hand to his chest and he released a breath. "Can you turn up the AC? Jesus, it's hot—"

"Don't fuck with me, Yuu! What the hell is happening!? What do you mean that's Archangel!?" Kimizuki questioned almost frantically.

Yuu ran a hand through his hair with a sigh, his mind trying to recall how things even ended up as they did. "Okay, I was only going out for some apple juice or something, holy fuck. I can't even believe this… But I got attacked by vampires, I think… I don't fucking know. But while they were attacking me, Archangel came out from the heavens and killed them. But they…" He trailed off as he returned his eyes to the male laid across the backseat beside him. "They knocked him out and he's going to be out for a while." His eyes returned to the side of Kimizuki's head as he drove, now slowly up at a yellow light. "I couldn't just leave him there. So I'm taking him home until he wakes up, I guess."

Kimizuki stopped as they came to a red light. He turned to look back at the two of them, most notably, Archangel. "Shouldn't we be taking him to a hospital or something!? Stupid Yuu, why would you take him to your house of all places!?"

"Take him to a hospital!? That'd put his whole identity at risk, hell no!" He snarled back with a glare.

"Which do you think is more important, idiot!? His identity or his life!? For all you know, he could be in critical condition! Jesus, Yuu! What if—"

"His identity _is_ his life, you shitty bastard! They'll rip off his mask and it'll be all over for him!"

The light up ahead turned green once more, and Kimizuki grunted before turning his attention back to the road. "That's… You're so moronic, it's unreal." His hands gripped the steering wheel tighter. Despite his words, Yuu was able to tell that his friend was still driving him in the direction of his house.

For the remainder of the ride, the two fell into silence until Kimizuki pulled up into Yuu's driveway.

As he began to park up, Yuu leaned forward. "Kimizuki, just trust me, alright? And please, _promise_ me that this only stays between the two of us."

Kimizuki was silent for a moment and Yuu resisted the urge to groan before he pleaded once more. "The less people that know about this, the better. Please?" He all but begged before Kimizuki sighed with a nod.

He unlocked the doors before turning to Yuu with a slight frown. "I promise."

Yuu instantly brightened up with a grateful smile while he reached for Archangel after having opened the door. "Thanks. I appreciate it." He began moving to pull the limp blond out, now once again being painfully reminded of his own injuries as he struggled to get the male out.

"… Do you need help taking him in?" Kimizuki questioned, almost reluctantly as he watched Yuu get him out and pull him closer.

Yuu tried to mask his wince of pain as he shook his head. He flashed Kimizuki a brilliant smile as he prepared to close the back door. "No, I'm fine. I can handle it… But seriously, thank you for everything…" He took once last look inside and kind of laughed a bit. "Also, you need to wash out the bloodstains in the seats. God knows if some evil scientist gets a hold of that shit, we'll have evil Archangel clones flying around."

Kimizuki blanched as he turned to look at his backseats after Yuu slammed the door shut.

Yuu had no idea how he managed to make it back into his house without dropping Archangel, but he was grateful for whatever it was, whether it was luck, skill, or the grace of God.

Of course, going up the stairs had been another story all together.

He dropped Archangel like twice and nearly tripped and tumbled downward at least fifty times. It had been a hard trek, but he managed it up in one piece and that was the important thing.

His first thought was to stop by the bathroom and clean up and bandage any of the wounds Archangel may have had.

Yuu turned on the light to bathroom, almost blinding himself with the newfound intense light surrounding him for just about the first time in a while. Rather than set him onto the closed toilet seat to just slump and fall over, Yuu sat Archangel down to the floor with his back resting on the wall.

He went into the medicine cabinet and beneath the sink, rummaging around for bandages, ointment, and anything else that could be of use. He hoped there wouldn't be anything that required stitches because he was completely sure he wasn't qualified to do anything that meticulous on another human being.

With everything in hand, he turned back to the unconscious male on the other side of the bathroom floor.

Staring at him now, Yuu realized he had to strip him.

He swallowed thickly and fought back any embarrassment that threatened to surface.

This was serious.

He just had to channel his inner doctor from those drama shows he used to watch back in high school.

He kneeled down, resolving to remove Archangel's cloak first. It was difficult, given that he had to unhook some of the golden clasps to the front of it and raise up his lower body from resting on it. His outfit was even more elaborate than the one presented in the fanart Yuu had seen.

Now, he was able to see Archangel's blond hair more clearly. It was long, but certainly not as long as Yuu had imagined it to be, though a good portion at the sides and back were covered by his metallic appearing mask. Naturally, after everything they went through, he wasn't surprised with how untamed it was.

Yuu placed the bloodied cloak to the side before looking at the white jacket on the male with a slight eye twitch.

Despite this, he cracked his knuckles before getting to work at the golden buttons.

As nice as his clothes were, Yuu couldn't help but wonder if he _had_ to go for such elaborate outfits that took a year and a day to remove.

Jesus, didn't it get annoying to put on and take off every day?

With that done, Yuu couldn't have groaned loud enough at the sight of the black button up the male had beneath that as well.

"Who the hell needs this many layers? Couldn't you have just gone with spandex or sailor fuku? Geez…" He muttered to himself in slight annoyance as he began undoing the buttons as quickly as he could manage.

When he finished, Yuu pitched the shirt in the pile along with the other outer layers.

Now, Yuu was given a good look at the male's upper body, which was unsurprisingly filled with muscle. Knowing he couldn't just gawk, he instantly went to get a wet rag to begin wiping away at the blood.

He made sure to be gentle with how he wiped it all away and as he went over an area he believed to have an opened wound, he found his eyes widening at the fact that the place he had been stabbed was already healed up.

In awe, he brought his free hand over to touch at the spot. There was still a slight scar, but Yuu supposed that that too would disappear soon. His hand rested on the spot lightly before he moved his hand over the male's skin, feeling his heart beat peacefully beneath him.

His green eyes moved up to stare at the mask still placed over the male's upper face before he went back to cleaning off the remained blood over his chest.

When he felt satisfied with his work, he moved to take off Archangel's thigh high boots in preparation to remove his white pants.

However, the moment Yuu removed the second boot, he paused.

His face threatened to warm up considerably as he thought of removing Archangel's pants.

He honestly didn't _have_ to.

That honestly went far beyond what he was capable of. Besides, any potential wounds he suffered from below the belt had to be healed by now anyways.

Letting out a short breath, he prepared to pick Archangel up once more before he began carrying him to his room.

Once in his room, Yuu immediately set the slumbering male to fall into his bed, his head falling near the army of stuffed bears that Yuu had to the side corner of his pillows. He then took his sights to his drawers to find something for the blond to put on.

It's then that he recalled how a majority of his clothes were dirty and he was actually supposed to wash them earlier that night, but he completely forgot.

God, he was an idiot.

He still had one pair of clean PJs left, fortunately. He pulled them out from the depths of his sleepwear drawer before turning back to the sleeping male on his bed.

Yuu propped him up before placing the red, long sleeved button up on his body. Yuu began doing up the buttons as fast as he could manage before setting him back down on the pillow gently.

His eyes glanced back at the pajama pants and though he didn't want to leave Archangel in his dirtied white pants, even he knew if he was knocked out and woke up and saw someone changed all the clothes on his body, he'd be a teeny bit embarrassed, if not creeped out.

Besides, he knew he couldn't handle the shame that would come with knowing whether Archangel was a boxer or briefs kind of guy.

Knowing that he basically had Archangel all set, Yuu found himself returning to the bathroom to inspect himself, within his hand was a change of clothes for himself.

He stood before the mirror and proceeded to lift up his own shirt.

The state his ribs were in did not look good at all.

With a probing finger, he poked at them and winced, already seeing the bruising that was on its way to appearing on his skin.

He hoped it was only bruising and nothing was actually broken because going to the hospital would only end up being a massive hassle.

As much as he knew he should probably take a shower, everything from the night was starting to crash down on him as his adrenaline and remaining bits of energy died off. He resolved to freshen up properly in the morning.

While he began stripping his clothes off as carefully as he could without disturbing his injuries, Yuu was then reminded of the weird gun in his back pocket.

He took it out and placed it on the sink countertop.

Honestly, he needed to stop his habit of waiting until the last minute to do his laundry because now he was feeling the true consequences as he changed into his new, clean outfit for sleep.

Trying not to give himself another look in the mirror, Yuu went into the medicine cabinet before taking out some pain killers, already knowing tomorrow was going to fall on him like a truck if he didn't prepare himself in advance.

After downing them with some sink water, he picked the gun back up along with his dirtied clothes and Archangel's before heading back into his room.

He pitched their dirty clothes to the side of his bed, resolving to clean up in the morning and then went to place the odd appearing gun in one of his bottom drawers.

His body felt way more weighted than it did when he first brought Archangel in through the front door, but he supposed that was natural.

Humans had their limits after all.

He reached over for his wheeled chair that was at his computer desk before he brought it over to the side of his bed.

After taking a seat and leaning back, he tried to control his breathing in an attempt to make it as painless as possible.

The room was silent and as Yuu kept his eyes zeroed in on the sleeping male, the one impulsive thought from before returned.

He could honestly take off Archangel's mask and see his face if he wanted to. He could take it off and put it back on right after. No one would ever know, no one except himself.

The thought was a negative one and Yuu quickly waved it away. He'd told Archangel he'd keep him safe and that meant from himself too. Even if Yuu wasn't exactly a supervillain or whatever, Archangel's identity had to stay only to himself or to the people he chose to tell, unless there was some other way to find it out.

He ran his hands through his hair with a sigh.

It was then that Yuu took a moment to fully let the situation at hand sink in. There he was, wearing nothing more but an oversized, white T-shirt, his elephant designed boxer briefs that Shinoa had given him as a gag gift for Christmas last year, and a lot of fatigue, while he stared down at the unconscious superhero that saved his life only about an hour ago.

Or perhaps it had been longer.

His sense of time was completely out the window.

But he really was only alive because of Archangel's intervention. That much was what he did know for sure.

He stifled a yawn as his eyes began to close. Exhaustion now began winning the battle against him as he found himself falling asleep.

* * *

 **Every chapter so far averages between 10k-20k, so this is a pretty heavy story. The rating will go up in future chapters. Not yet sure what my updating schedule will be, but I'll figure something out.**

 **Anyways, h** **ope it was enjoyable! Let me know what you think!**


	2. Admirer

Yuu scrunched his eyes when a rush of cold wind went over his body.

He shivered with a sleepy groan as he found himself cracking his eyes open, allowing morning daylight to momentarily burn at his sight and mind.

As he rose upward, he came to realize his head at been resting at the side of his bed. He blinked multiple times, one of his hands moving to rub at his eye tiredly.

The fact that his bed was empty took a minute to work within his brain, but once it did, it was as though everything from the night before came crashing down on him in one of the most painful ways.

His head was already throbbing and he could feel his chest protesting at his movements.

He could just tell today was going to be fucking lovely.

Another breeze hit his body, and he turned his attention over to his balcony door that was opened. The curtains blew further into the room from the wind outside, creating a draft within that had Yuu shivering.

The male stood to his feet carefully before he began walking out. As he stepped onto his balcony, he glanced up and around as his arms leaned on the ledge.

The morning sky was as blue as ever and though the Sun was only covered by a few grey clouds, in the distance Yuu could make out an impending amount of monotonous clouds approaching.

A light breeze went by yet again and Yuu frowned a bit as he watched a bird fly overhead.

It was obvious Archangel was long gone, but… There was still an odd feeling left within him.

Maybe the fact they didn't exactly get closure?

He tried to shrug that off as he went to the bathroom to shower.

After taking off his shirt, he could see how badly the bruising had become overnight. He couldn't help but touch some of the purpled skin lightly, wincing when he pressed at one of his ribs a bit too hard.

When he finished his shower, Yuu quickly trekked his way into Guren's empty room.

He held onto the towel that was wrapped around his waist loosely even as he began rummaged through one of Guren's drawers for a spare shirt and jeans. Guren was taller and a bit broader than him but rolling up the ends and wearing a belt would solve that problem of the loose fitting clothing.

After finding a pair that was enough to satisfy him, he changed into them quickly.

His next goal was to do his laundry.

As he returned to his room to pick up his dirty laundry bags he had to give Archangel's clothes a skeptical look.

Should he wash them? Was there even a point to that?

Yuu really doubted there was a single chance in hell that Archangel was going to come back for them. If anything, he should probably destroy them.

Burn them in a fire pit or something…

He contemplated the thought and other options while he placed his clothing in the washing machine downstairs. His ribs still caused him pain with even the smallest movements, it made the most mundane activities torture.

Yuu tried as he could to ignore it, remembering to take more painkillers when he was done.

After doing the first load, he walked back to the kitchen where he'd left his phone on the countertop.

Pressing the home button, the time shone brightly at the top along with the notifications below it.

Before his shower he had checked his phone very briefly, the top message had been Kimizuki's text late last night, asking him if everything was alright. Yuu had shortly responded with 'yeah' and left it at that.

Unlocking his phone, he was instantly greeted with the sight of the fanart of Archangel that Shinoa had changed his wallpaper to since yesterday. He was once again reminded that he'd have to change it later. However, for now he directed his attention to his messaging app.

Yuu walked into his kitchen as he scrolled through the group chat to catch up what he'd missed within the past 12 hours and also texted his lab partner about the fact he had completed a good portion of the lab report last night.

Opening the freezer, Yuu pulled out a package of frozen mixed vegetables before exiting out and making his way to the couch in the living room.

As he sat down and applied the frozen vegetables to his ribs beneath his shirt with a wince, Yuu reached for the remote before turning on the TV.

He wondered what Archangel was doing at the moment.

Was he back to his civilian life with everything from last night completely out of mind?

He was a superhero after all, last night was probably a typical Friday night.

It was then that Yuu couldn't help but ponder what the blond's thoughts were when he first woke up.

He hadn't seemed too happy about Yuu's help at first… Had he been angry when he woke up and saw him there at his bedside? Or maybe he had actually been grateful or touched at what Yuu must have gone through to help him.

God, now this was something that would probably bother him for just about the rest of his life.

How he managed to stay knocked out when Archangel got out of his bed and left through his balcony was another story entirely as well.

Yuu resisted the urge to groan as he flipped through the channels almost aimlessly.

He settled on the news while his hand adjusted the frozen vegetables to another part of his chest.

Typical of 11 am news, it was mostly recycled things from earlier.

A story on the prime minister's visit to the European Union came on that Yuu mostly zoned out of. He continued moving the iced vegetables over his chest, trying his best to endure the pain that came with his movements as the temperature soothed the bruising if even just a little.

Those people and their superhuman strength…

If they had thrown him any harder, they probably could have actually broken some ribs. Or maybe even jumbled his organs out of place or something.

The thought was a haunting one.

He honestly could have died last night if Archangel hadn't showed up…

But it didn't feel real at all.

If it weren't for the bruised ribs, he probably would have passed everything off as some very weird dream.

Even down to carrying Archangel, it just felt like it never happened.

Yuu frowned.

He supposed he'd just have to live like this for the rest of his life. The chances of encountering Archangel again were slim to none unless he wanted the fortune of being in a Horseman of John attack.

"Damn it…" He mumbled to himself as he flipped the channel once more, only pausing when he felt his phone begin vibrating wildly from beside him.

He glanced down and unlocked it quickly, opening out a text from Kimizuki.

 _From: Kimizuki_

 _So what happened last night? Is he still there now?_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Nah he left before I even woke up this morning :/_

 _From: Kimizuki_

 _Wow… So that's just it then? Nothing else?_

Kimizuki's reply was practically instant. Yuu nearly snorted, but he supposed he couldn't blame the male's curiosity.

The situation really was one that anyone would be insistent on being updated with.

 _From: Yuu_

 _I guess so…_

Even typing it out felt depressing.

He didn't know what he expected anyways.

Was Archangel supposed to wake him up to an egg and bacon breakfast and declare they were now lovers or best friends or something? He wasn't that naïve.

Still…

He felt like the encounter should have had more.

At least a goodbye or a thank you.

Yuu at the very least wanted to thank him for helping him out.

After settling on watching some old sitcom reruns for about the next hour or so, the vegetables on his chest had long ago lost their cold charm and been reduced to mostly moisten packaging that left the front of his shirt wet.

Hunger rippled through his stomach in the form of a low growl and Yuu picked himself up with a groan.

As he began going toward the kitchen, he paused as he remembered they didn't have any juice.

With that, he took his steps back upstairs toward Guren's room to borrow one of his jackets before heading back downstairs and out the door.

Walking the same route he took last night felt strange for sure.

Things were much brighter now. Even though the sky had gradually moved to become covered by grey clouds, it was still way better than over 12 hours ago. Coupled with the fact that there were way more people on the streets, everything seemed eerily different.

It was as if last night had been one big nightmare…

His eyes dully looked into the alleyway that the woman had originally come running out of desperate for 'help' before she lured Yuu down there to the other passageway that led to a dead end. He honestly never would have suspected someone like her was a monster…

A vampire.

Yuu kept walking, his destination coming up only about two minutes later and right as he entered, he noted how the sky began to drizzle a bit.

He maneuvered himself past the people around him to get through one of the aisles and to make his way to the back where the refrigerators were. Quickly, he picked up a liter of soda and a jug of orange juice before heading to the register to pay. Along the way, he resisted the urge to buy a bag of chips or candy bar, keeping in mind he was using his 'emergency' card and Guren would have his head if he went for anything other than necessities… And calling the soda and juice necessities was already a stretch.

After paying, Yuu stepped out where the rain had picked up.

He pulled up his jacket's hood before walking ahead with one of his hands in his pockets and the other to his side, carrying the bag of drinks.

Due to his increased walking speed, he came upon the area where he had been. The teen grunted in pain as he took in too deep of a breath, his chest responding back to indicate his injury was still there.

His jaw clenched as his steps slowed when he approached the entrance to the alleyway.

A drop of rain hit his nose, the water felt unbelievably cool on his skin. He paused for a moment, considering what reasons he even had to return to the alleyway…

He had none.

Archangel had caused all three of them to turn into nothing but dust and Yuu had retrieved the gun already—

His green eyes widened considerably.

The two males both had weapons too. Yuu hadn't picked those up last night.

He didn't even remember seeing them when he had been scoping the area right before Kimizuki picked him up, but then again his mind had been a hazy mess. He wasn't exactly focused on picking up weapons from his fallen enemies like some video game character.

Just as he prepared to walk down the alley, he found himself jumping a bit in surprise as a female suddenly came bounding around the corner of the alleyway with her umbrella nearly falling out her hand when she bumped into his chest.

"Sorry! I was rushing just now, that was completely my fault…" The lavender haired female trailed off the minute her wide amber eyes looked up and met with Yuu's face after she struggled for a better hold on her panda printed umbrella and adjusted her pink handbag around her shoulder.

Yuu blinked, taking in the familiar face before a smile made its way to his face almost instantly.

"Mahiru! Hey! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!" He exclaimed and Mahiru beamed back at him pleasantly.

Her arm moved upward a bit in order to get Yuu beneath her umbrella. "What are the odds of us literally bumping into each other?" She giggled slightly before her smile wavered a bit. "Don't tell me you came all the way out here without an umbrella."

Yuu felt himself flush a bit underneath her critical stare. He would have moved to scratch the back of his neck, but that risked having his elbow out from the shelter of her umbrella and into the rain.

Instead, he averted his gaze from hers sheepishly, "I didn't know it was going to rain today… Just thought it'd be cloudy."

The two shifted to the left a bit as a few other people with wider umbrellas passed them on the sidewalk.

Mahiru shook her head, but a smile was still on her face. "I'll walk you home. Your jacket will just get soaked if you walk on your own and you could end up with a cold later." She softly explained and Yuu knew that denying her would be impossible.

He just gave her a grateful grin before simply replying with, "thanks, but you really don't have to!"

She was a naturally kind soul. He had long ago come to realize that ever since Guren adopted him. Even though he saw what she was doing as really nice, he knew a petty thing like this was just second nature to her given her altruistic ways.

As Yuu glanced back down at her while they started walking ahead, Mahiru soon turned to look up at him curiously. "So what's up? I haven't seen you in a while, Yuuichirou. How've you been?"

Yuu turned to look at her and was immediately reminded of how strongly she and Shinoa resembled one another.

A person could honestly mistake them for twins if not for the fact Mahiru's hair was a couple shades lighter.

Despite Mahiru being nearly a decade older than her younger sister, both of them could probably still pass as high school students if they desired. Especially Shinoa, given her shorter stature, but his point still remained.

"I've been pretty good. How about you?" He moved closer to her as the rain seemed to pick up in intensity. "You rarely come over anymore, been busy?"

Mahiru sighed a bit. "Well, you know how work is… I got promoted to a really high position a while ago too. Which is good, I suppose. But it means way more working hours." She looked ahead as they walked, her light brown eyes filled with an emotion Yuu wasn't quite sure how to describe.

She turned to him with a beam. "Be sure to enjoy your college days! Try not to grow up too fast either! Though I suppose it's a little too late to say that; you've already sprouted like a tree…" The older female noted while surveying him with a brief nod.

Her words brought up memories from his and Guren's brief phone call conversation yesterday and Yuu pursed his lips. "Yeah, try telling that to Guren." He knew he was about to send his father into the shark tank with an opened wound, but..."Lately he's been all fangs about me getting a job the second I turn 19."

Mahiru blinked, confusion evident on her angelic features. "Why's that? It's not like money's tight for you guys."

Yuu shrugged. "I dunno. He's a dick." He ended shortly, already knowing this was a battle that would end with him being victorious.

"Hm… I'll talk to him for you." Mahiru assured him with a hand to her chin thoughtfully.

Yuu tried to fight back a grin. However, before he could thank her, Mahiru continued.

"Ah! Before I forget, how are your love life woes going?"

"Huh?"

The question caught him by total surprise, he blinked his eyes twice as he gave her a mystified expression.

Mahiru let out a light laugh while her free hand moved to cover her mouth. "You're at _that_ age. I'm surprised you haven't found anyone special yet. Could it be you're not interested in love?" She inquired with a genuinely curious glint in her eyes.

Still unprepared, Yuu stammered. "W-Well… I wouldn't say I'm not interested… I mean, I'm not, not right now… But, uh…" He attempted to piece together his thoughts as he felt his cheeks warm a bit in embarrassment.

Mahiru giggled a bit more, clearly finding amusement at his expense.

That definitely had to be a Hiiragi gene.

"I mean… I'm not exactly looking for someone at the moment, but if that person appeared I wouldn't be opposed. If that makes sense?" He carefully chose his words this time.

It wasn't a surprise for Mahiru to tease him on his (nonexistent) love affairs. The more he thought about it, she was like the flipside to Shinoa that had a dirtier approach to asking him questions about his intimacy with another person.

Mahiru's questions usually involved asking when he was going to start a planning a wedding whereas Shinoa's questions typically revolved around when he was going to start 'thrusting it in' someone.

Maybe caring about stupid shit like that was another Hiiragi gene.

"I see! You're not actively out fishing, you're just waiting for that fish to come to you! A classical approach for any protagonist that is in waiting for a soulmate!" Mahiru nodded her head twice in understanding.

"Wha—?"

"Anyways, Yuuichirou, if you ever need love advice, feel free to talk to me!" Mahiru insisted and Yuu's gaze averted to the streets with a nervous smile.

"Aha, yeah, of course, Mahiru…"

The rest of the walk to his house was filled with light chatter that didn't make Yuu feel like a 'cherry boy' as Shinoa would have probably put it. He caught Mahiru up on the latest events of his life, save for that one encounter he had last night obviously, and she remarked that she'd try to come around more often like she used to.

As they came upon Yuu's house and Mahiru started walking them toward the underpass above the front porch, Yuu gave her a welcoming expression. "You can stay in until the rain lets up, you know!"

It was obvious that the downpour was going to linger for a while longer and he didn't want her to keep roaming the cold streets with just her umbrella.

Mahiru smiled back at him sweetly. "Thanks, but I actually have to get back to work. I'm only on an 'extended' lunch break." She answered as she prepared to turn back around after adjusting her jacket's collar.

At this, Yuu nearly tilted his head to the side puzzled. "Isn't your job all the way downtown? Why were you all the way over here for your lunch break?"

It really made no sense whatsoever. He was reminded that she came down the same alleyway that could have led to the dead end alley that he and Archangel had been at the other day. Though he was doubtful she'd been down that specific alley… She must have come from the other street side.

"See you around, Yuuichirou!" Mahiru entirely ignored his question and instead flashed him a peace sign before she began walking back down toward the sidewalk. "Enjoy your orange juice!"

Yuu waited until she was safely out of sight before he took out his key and entered his home.

Perhaps when he took microbiology next semester he would see if his professor would be interested in examining the Hiiragi's DNA. He was more than positive there was something in it that made them so weird.

He took himself to the kitchen before placing the juice and soda within, being mindful not to bend as to disturb his chest.

After that, he placed his hand within his jacket's pocket to bring out his phone.

He hadn't even felt the vibrations from the group chat where Shinoa and Yoichi had evidently been talking about five minutes ago.

 _Shinoa: Guys, my Saturdays should not be this boring. We need to do laser tag or something next week_

 _Shinoa: Wait… Everyone except Yuu-san has work right now_

 _Shinoa: Unacceptable. I require someone to watch me complain in real time_

 _Shinoa: You guys suck_

 _Yoichi: I'm on lunch break!_

 _Shinoa: Thank goodness_

 _Yoichi: We can't do laser tag though because there's five of us… Uneven number and all?_

 _Shinoa: Siiigh. I suppose, but maybe we just don't do teams?_

Yuu immediately took the time to put his way into the conversation.

 _Yuu: Psh just put me on my own team against everyone and ill kick all of your asses_

 _Shinoa: You have the aim of an intoxicated infant._

 _Yoichi: Lol!_

 _Yuu: And you know this how?_

 _Shinoa: Remember back in homeroom when you were determined to throw that one paperball into the trash can from your seat?_

 _Shinoa: I remember because it took you 17 tries and two detentions from the teacher before you finally made it in_

 _Yuu: That was way back in high school and my seat was actually really far away from the trash so stfu_

 _Shinoa: Lmao if you say so_

 _Yoichi: Off the topic of Yuu's skills, I think that when we find a sixth person we can consider laser tag haha_

 _Shinoa: Brilliant as always, Yoichi. If only other people in this chat could be as bright as you_

 _Yuu: you were literally the one that came up with the idea in the first place wtf_

There was no immediate reply and Yuu put his phone down in favor of making himself some food for the day.

The rest of his Saturday was rather uneventful. He passed his time watching TV, doing school work, and texting his obnoxious friends. Guren eventually came back in the evening, upset with him for snitching on him to Mahiru. It earned him a knock upside the head, but in return for the money he knew would be in his account, it was completely worth it. Night fell in and the two ate dinner before Yuu took himself to the shower. After taking some painkillers, he retired to his room for the night.

Sunday was more or less the same.

The upcoming week wasn't exactly met with glee, but seeing his friends again was nice even if it meant returning to his classes.

Kimizuki kept his word and never once brought up the incident when they saw each other.

His routine was left entirely unchanged.

It was as if the encounter with Archangel never even happened in the first place.

He was given stark reminders that it _did_ happen whenever he caught sight of his bruised chest in a mirror whenever he changed. Throughout the week the pain slowly began to subside and the bruising went down as well.

By Friday night, it marked a week since it all happened.

Yuu was honestly really tempted to revisit the alleyway again, but he fought the urge.

Archangel probably got the weapons anyways.

He wondered if the blond had panicked at not finding the gun that actually managed to be his kryptonite.

Yuu turned his attention away from his laptop and rolled his chair over to his drawer where the gun was still situated at the bottom of.

He found himself taking it out, inspecting it once more carefully.

The bullets had some sort of spell engraved on them that could cause someone like Archangel to become vulnerable for several hours. It was definitely dangerous.

If he knew of a proper way to destroy it, he would…

Maybe pitch it in a fire or something.

As he heard footsteps approaching his room door, Yuu quickly placed the weapon back into his drawer, covering it with clothes and pushing it back in right before Guren entered, stating dinner was ready.

Saturday came back around quickly and Yuu found himself waking up to a text from Shinoa within the group's usual chat.

 _Shinoa: Everyone, it is Saturday morning-afternoon. Since laser tag flopped, we should all just head out to eat somewhere._

 _Kimizuki: I have work._

 _Mitsuba: Shinoa, I told you last night I had dance practice all morning._

 _Shinoa: How unfortunate. Micchan and Kimizuki, I'll save you both a croissant. Yuu-san and Yoichi, are you two available?_

 _Yuu: Is it going to be your treat?_

 _Yoichi: I'm good to go! Just tell me where :)_

 _Shinoa: I'll get you two croissants and a cup of orange juice_

 _Yuu: I'm not gunna pay you back lol_

 _Shinoa: I'm taking back my offer lol_

 _Yuu: Wow_

 _Shinoa: Don't play this game with me, Yuu-san. I know Mahiru bullied Guren into giving you more lunch money, nerd. And you have the nerve to call me the cheap one_

 _Yuu: I'm just trying to 'budget' better like you all told me to. fuck off_

 _Yoichi: If money's a concern we can head to the café! My employee discount can cover us a bit haha_

 _Yuu: Yoichi….. Have I ever told you how you're my favorite person in the whole entire world?_

 _Shinoa: How much Ichinose dick did you suck to earn that title Yoichi?_

 _Yuu: Can someone remove Shinoa from the chat?_

 _Yoichi: Lol! What time should we meet up?_

 _Shinoa: Within the hour? I just need to get ready and I'm heading over_

 _Yuu: Yeah same_

 _Yoichi: I'll see you guys there!_

Yuu immediately went to the bathroom to take a quick shower before changing into a long sleeved shirt and jeans. As he came downstairs, he saw Guren napping away on the couch.

Already knowing it was best to just leave him a text to wake up to rather than wake him up now, he headed out.

Walking to Yoichi's place didn't take too long. It was more or less the same distance as the university was.

Considering he had his thoughts wandering the whole time he walked there, he couldn't even say the journey was anything more than five minutes. He was barely conscious to the people he walked past on the sidewalk, his headphones were placed in his ear too, but his mind tuned the music out.

His mind was completely stuck on Archangel.

It'd been the case throughout the whole week and he wondered if it'd ever stop.

Within the past several days, Yuu found himself just creating the most improbable scenarios where they would end up meeting up again somehow.

He knew it was weird, but he couldn't help it.

Encountering him during a Horseman of John rampage with Yuu somehow helping him out amid the battle and Archangel properly thanking him seemed to be a popular scenario his brain loved replaying.

God knew if anyone within his immediate vicinity was a mind reader, Yuu would probably die on the spot from embarrassment.

His thoughts were almost as bad as those people that thought they'd have a chance of marrying the guy.

Yuu didn't really have any desires to kiss him or anything— well, if Archangel initiated it between them, he wouldn't exactly be opposed to it…

No. No. No. No.

Topic change. He couldn't stray into that sort of territory.

He wasn't about to be reduced to having a childish crush on a superhero. He refused.

"Yuu-san!" Shinoa called out the moment Yuu opened the door to enter the coffee shop.

Above him, the entrance bell at the door gave a small ring and Yuu smiled over at his two friends that were seated at a table toward the center, not too far from the register counter.

Shinoa waved over at him invitingly and Yoichi gave him a pleasant beam right before Yuu took a seat across from the two of them.

"Hey, guys. How's it going?" Yuu questioned leisurely questioned as he reached for one of the small menus.

Yoichi shifted in his seat a bit. "Pretty good! Ah… They almost tried to make me pick up a shift today, but Shinoa convinced them we were discussing some group project today, so whenever someone who works here walks nearby we have to start talking about the history of lap dances."

"… What the hell?"

"I thought of it on the spot, alright?" Shinoa shrugged her shoulders uncaringly and Yuu's mouth opened to reply, but just as quickly as he opened it he closed it.

"Never mind. I'm not discussing lap dances though." He settled on saying while Yoichi gave a slight nervous laugh, his cheeks evidently flushed pink.

Shinoa gave him a blank stare. "If Yoichi is dragged into taking an extra shift it will be all your fault." Her tone was light and Yuu could only roll his eyes as he opened the menu to look for something to order.

His finger trailed down his options before settling on a sandwich and juice. As Yoichi called over one of his co-workers, Shinoa turned to Yuu curiously.

"I've been meaning to ask you this since yesterday, but I lost the opportunity," she began and Yuu raised an eyebrow her way questioningly.

However, the waitress now came over and asked for their orders causing Shinoa to pause her words briefly in favor of informing the older woman what she wanted politely.

Before the woman could fully turn away after she finished getting Yuu and Yoichi's orders, Shinoa looked Yuu dead in the eye before more loudly saying, "There is a lot of controversy when it comes to having lap dances in clubs. Some people aren't sure whether to classify it as harmless entertainment or sex work. What are yourthoughts on this, Yuu-san?"

The waitress quickly scurried away from their table with her pen and notepad in hand whereas Yuu found his face heating up as he tore his eyes away from Shinoa's in mild embarrassment.

Yoichi gave a slight whine. "Shinoa, please… If you're too loud we could get kicked out. This is a family coffee shop…" He reminded her as he reached to grab her arm and shake it a bit.

"Oh, right. Sorry, sorry!"

"Shinoa, I honestly can't stand you sometimes." Yuu groaned with a hand wiping at his face. He sighed before tiredly watching at her. "What were you _really_ going to ask me?"

Yoichi blinked his eyes curiously between the two of them and Shinoa leaned forward, her expression unchanging.

"I was just going to ask if you've been alright lately. I've noticed since Monday you've been really dazed. Even walking in here and sitting down… I feel like you're not with us mentally." She bluntly informed as her chin rested on her hands.

Her stare was practically penetrating, but Yuu didn't look away.

Instead, Yuu scratched his cheek with a short nervous laugh. "I-Is that so? Well, nothing's really been— I'm fine, really, it's just… I have some stuff on my mind, I guess… And uh—"

Without warning, Shinoa rose up from her seat in order to grab his phone from the table side. "May I see your phone please? Thank you." She voiced as she sat back down.

It took Yuu a moment to register what was happening before he felt horror erupt into his stomach while he reached forward in order to get his phone back. Shinoa pushed her chair backward to avoid his offending hand effortlessly.

"Fuck, give it back—!"

"How interesting… Your lock screen may have changed, but your home screen is still Archangel." Her taunting brown eyes locked with his as a smirk came to her lips. She put a hand to her mouth as she let out a short and amused laugh, "Yuu-san, I had no idea you'd like this picture so much! Look, Yoichi!" She teased while showing off the screen to the brunet that watched the pair with an anxious smile.

"P-Please don't get too loud, you two…"

Yuu growled, nearly flipping over the table as he stood to his feet to reach for his phone. "That's not true, damn it! I just couldn't decide what to change my home screen to because I didn't want to use my old one again!"

He lied straight through his teeth on that one and from the way Shinoa suggestively wiggled her eyebrows, it was obvious she saw through his bullshit too.

Honestly, he had no idea why he hung out with Shinoa.

He could feel his entire face heating up.

"You never struck me as one of _those_ types of people, Yuu-san. But the more I think about it, the more I see it. I bet you read sensual stories of him online." Shinoa remarked plainly and Yuu grunted with furrowed brows.

"The fuck does that mean!?"

"You know, how people write little sexual stories about Archangel sexing them up. They write it like 'imagine, Archangel's long, hardened erection probing at your sweet and tight entrance! You let out a moan of pleasure as—Mmph!'"

Yoichi's hand went around her mouth as he leaned against her with creased eyebrows. "Shinoa, please… You're going to get us in trouble if you keep saying things like that so loudly." He barely managed to squeak out and at that moment, Yuu was able to snatch his phone back with a grumble.

He sat back down in his seat and placed it between his legs protectively while shooting her a dark look. "As if I'd read anything like that. What do you take me for?"

Once released from Yoichi's grip, Shinoa didn't relent. "You shouldn't be ashamed of being attracted to him. I mean, who wouldn't be?"

Yuu's leer on her intensified and Yoichi sighed.

At that moment, their food and drinks arrived and as the waitress settled their respective orders before them, Shinoa continued. "He's at the very least physically pleasing if those fanarts give a hint and you know the essence of a god on paper pales to the true beauty in person."

Her words made Yuu grunt as he reached for his cup of juice.

He recalled how close he'd been to Archangel when he was washing away the blood from his chest.

If Archangel's abs were anything to go by, Archangel was more than likely really handsome beneath his mask…

"God, with the way you've been going on about him lately, I'm starting to think you're the one with a crush on him." Yuu retorted simply before downing a gulp of his juice.

Shinoa gripped her chin thoughtfully. "Hm… Well, I did tell you before my type was a knight charming."

"Hah! You admit it!"

"However… I simply cannot have an attraction to someone that would abandon me in the middle of sex to go and save the city." She seriously stated with a firm stare both his and Yoichi's way. "Like yeah, yeah, I understand the fate of the world is at risk, but what about my orgasm, huh? That's at risk too."

"… You're so annoying."

Shinoa smiled sweetly before turning to Yoichi as she raised up her latte to her lips. "What about you, Yoichi? Any hidden feelings for Archangel?"

As she took a sip of her drink, Yoichi flushed a bit, his olive green eyes shyly looking down at his mini-donuts. "Ah… To tell you guys the truth, when he first started appearing think I had a tiny crush on him." He stuck his tongue out a bit before waving off at them quickly, "I grew out of it though! I just really liked the idea of being with a superhero was all!"

Yuu said nothing more to this, instead allowing Shinoa to engage in further discussion with him over it.

He supposed it was natural since they had still been in high school when Archangel appeared.

Yoichi had been bullied a couple of years before that, prior to him becoming friends with Yuu and Shinoa… On a psychological level, it made sense why he had a thing for superheroes or a strong, protective sort of person.

Yuu never even put much thought into what his own 'type' was. He never thought about romance much at all.

Sure, in high school on Valentine's Day he would often get a few gifts from secret admirers here and there, but he never thought much of it. He never met or saw anyone he was attracted enough to pursue.

And now it seemed like Archangel was on the verge of breaking his near 19 year streak.

God, he was hopeless.

The bell at the entrance to the café gave a ring and in the back of his head, Yuu could hear one of the workers greeting the newcomer with a warm "Welcome!"

Subconsciously, he found himself turning over his shoulder slightly to see the new arrival into the shop.

Yuu's eyes widened.

The blond his eyes were currently zeroed in on made his way toward the register and began plainly speaking to the woman stationed there.

Yuu's mouth opened a bit, but no words came out as he found himself unable to find any words within himself.

A surge of emotions filtered through his body, yet at the same time he felt numb.

As if connected by some external force, he got up from his seat, the chair scratched against the tile floor and made a short noise that evidently caught the attention of his two friends.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Yuu heard Shinoa and Yoichi call his name and ask where he was going, but Yuu was already beginning to walk toward the blond that still stood before the register counter.

Yuu nearly hesitated as he approached him, however, he didn't, and his hand found its way to the blond's shoulder firmly. "Are you…" He found his mouth becoming dry and he paused right as the blond turned to him, tousled hair turning fluidly along his neck like water as he did so.

His sharp blue eyes glared at Yuu coldly at first, but after a second, the hostility disappeared and was replaced with what appeared to be shock.

Yuu licked his lips, staring at him without a mistake.

He knew this face. He definitely did. Even though so much time had passed… It was definitely…

"Mikaela?" He asked softly. "Are you Mikaela? From Hyakuya orphanage?"

The blond nodded his head slowly, the shock on his face changing into caution, but to Yuu there was no relief, instead a twisted feeling of terror in his stomach.

Mika didn't remember him.

This was now awkward and more than a little sad.

Still, he gave the male a weak smile. "You… You don't remember me, do you? I'm Yuuichirou… I, uh, I used to read to you every day there, Mika." He stated with hope lined in his words.

Instantly, realization dawned on Mika's facial features and Yuu felt his smile both strengthen and broaden right as Mika stammered out, "Yuu-chan…?"

Yuu nodded happily, unable to help himself from blushing at the old nickname he hadn't heard for years, "You remember me—Oof!" His words were immediately cut off as Mika's body pulled him into a tight, near back breaking hug.

Yuu painfully winced, his chest injuries seemingly becoming fresh once more. However, he tried as he could to ignore the pain and instead returned the hug with a short laugh, "We meet again!" He exclaimed, unable to really think about how strong Mika had become.

The joy in his body and mind was too overwhelming for him to particularly care.

He had thought everyone from the orphanage had _died_.

So many years ago, only a couple of months after he had been adopted he could still remember when Guren broke the news to him.

Though Guren had been straightforward, yet gentle with how he told him, there wasn't exactly an easy way to tell someone that their former home had gone up in flames with his old family still inside.

He'd been told there were no survivors from Hyakuya orphanage, neither adult nor child.

To see Mika still alive was basically a miracle.

They stood in the hug for a while, but Yuu refused to be the one to let go first.

He laughed a bit, his face turning to the side resulting in a bunch of the male's blond hair filling his vision and stroking at his skin. He couldn't help but note how his hair smelled good before he said, "talk to me, Mika! How are you!? How have you been!? Come on!"

Mika noticeably tensed before he pulled away from Yuu, finally releasing him.

His blue eyes remained trained on Yuu as his arms fell back to his sides, "I…" He trailed off, his voice practically quivering. "It's really you…" He breathlessly stated and Yuu could only assume he was saying it more for himself rather than for Yuu.

Yuu grinned. "Yes, it's really me! Do you have a minute? You can come over and sit with me and my friends so we can catch up!" He suggested while gesturing his head back to where Yoichi and Shinoa still sat.

Mika's eyebrows creased sadly and he shook his head with a miserable frown coming to his face, "I really wish I could. I really, really do. But I have to go somewhere. Maybe we can—"

"Can we at least swap numbers!?" Yuu interrupted the moment he got rejected, not even bothering to the let the blond finish, "I mean, I don't want to lose contact with you! I want to properly reunite with you!"

Mika's eyes widened, presumably at how determined Yuu's tone was and Yuu supposed he should have been embarrassed with how strong he was coming off as, but he felt entirely justified.

They hadn't seen each other in about eight years and to top it off, Yuu had thought he was dead during that time.

There was no way he was getting away from him so easily.

At that, Mika's expression then softened and he nodded with a gentle smile to his lips. "Of course. Want to switch phones?" He inquired while reaching into his pocket.

Yuu grinned at him before handing over his own phone to him after having unlocked it and opening up the new contacts page.

As Mika handed him his phone, Yuu began filling in his information. Right before he pressed 'enter' to complete the new entry, he heard Mika give a snort.

The two returned their respective phones and at that moment, Yuu realized he hadn't changed his home screen from Archangel.

Yuu felt his face begin to grow hot instantly, "N-No! Don't get the wrong idea! My friend changed it to be a dick and—"

Though he tried to defend himself, Mika simply reached for his ready cup of coffee that was on the counter before he turned back to Yuu with a sweet smile, "I'll text you later, Yuu-chan. I really want to stay in touch with you, so I'll see you again soon, hopefully."

"Ah… Right, of course!" Yuu waved back at him with a matching expression as the blond began to leave the café.

Once he was out of sight, he heaved a breath and turned back to sit with Yoichi and Shinoa again.

A couple of eyes had been on the two of them during their encounter… That much was evident even as he pulled his seat back out and returned to the table.

Shinoa and Yoichi both eyed him expectantly and Yuu reached for one of his sandwich triangles casually.

He took a bite as he returned his friends' stares and after about 20 seconds of silence passed Yoichi was the first to cave as he sighed heavily.

"Yuu, how do you know Mikaela?" He inquired while leaning forward.

Yuu blinked his eyes and turned to Yoichi in surprise. "Whoa. How do you know his name?"

Had he been that loud when he approached him? That was embarrassing.

Shinoa put her hand up slightly. "Yoichi asked first, so you're obligated to answer his question first, Yuu-san." She interjected in a formal tone, almost as though she were some sort of official moderator.

"Mika and I are from the same orphanage." He easily answered with a shake to his head. "It's not exactly some big secret… But I think I told you guys this already, a while ago actually, about a month or so after I had been adopted the orphanage had caught on fire in the middle of the night with all the children and adults inside. There hadn't been any reported survivors either…"

Recalling the tale had once been so hard, he could remember the amount of times he cried over it as a child, survivor's guilt haunting him even if he missed the incident by several weeks.

Like any tragedy, he had grown from it. Recalling it still made him feel grief, but he had just accepted it in his own way.

He still felt guilt about not having visited them one last time after he had been adopted, but…

He had only been a child at the time. It was naïve to think he could have changed anything.

"Mika had been very sickly. He was always in the clinic strapped up to tubes and other machines when I first got there… Leading up to the time before I left he'd been conscious way more often, but apparently, he was too pained to move even a finger. I had been certain that Mika was gone for sure from the fire, but I guess he must have been adopted before the fire took place."

Hearing himself give that explanation aloud actually made him realize how badly his curiosity was burning.

He wanted answers.

How did Mika avoid the fire? It had to have been from adoption, there was no other way.

"Oh wow…" Yoichi voiced in amazement and Shinoa appeared to be just as taken by his short story.

Yuu glanced down at his phone and briefly he considered sending Mika a text. But if he did, he'd probably look really desperate or something. He'd have to fight the urge—

 _From: Mika_

 _Hey!_

Yuu nearly dropped his phone in surprise at the notification.

Yoichi now took the opportunity to answer Yuu's earlier question right as Yuu began typing back his reply to the blond. "Mikaela's a regular at the shop. He's considered one of our special customers because he orders a specific type of macchiato that only Tomoe knows how to make for him. He typically comes in every Thursday."

 _From: Yuu_

 _I thought you were too busy to stay and chat huh_

Yuu glanced back up at Yoichi in disbelief. "What? Seriously? Every Thursday!?"

Yoichi gave a nervous laugh. "I mean, there are rare occasions like just now when he comes in and orders stuff on other days of the week, but usually you can expect him Thursday afternoon or evening."

"You've got to be shitting me."

 _From: Mika_

 _I'm sorry! But I was just checking to make sure you put in the right number and vice versa before I got too far away to turn back and get the right one lol_

Before Yuu could even start to type a reply, he received another message from him.

 _From: Mika_

 _I am also currently fighting to get my way back home. I have a lot of stuff to do. I am really, really, really sorry that I couldn't stay to talk to you more though :( Please don't think otherwise_

 _From: Yuu_

 _It's fine lmaoo I was just teasing you but you sound really busy, damn_

"My, my… It appears Yuu-san's life is a romance novel in the making. I wonder how many chance encounters you've missed in order to rekindle with Mikaela-san up until now." Shinoa remarked before taking a sip from her latte.

Yuu grunted. "We aren't long lost lovers or something. We're just childhood friends." He corrected and right after he did, he had no idea why he did it.

Now Shinoa was going to proceed to tease him about Mika with sexual innuendos for a while, he just knew it.

Yoichi brightened up with a smile. "That's still great! Ah, I can only imagine how frustrated destiny and stuff must have gotten with you two! Like Shinoa said, imagine how many times you were close to bumping into him, but barely missed him?"

"Man, I don't even want to think about it. The Gods probably gave up on us at this point." Yuu airily remarked.

Shinoa hummed. "A bit off topic, but when we finish up, we should head to my dorm to play video games or something." As an afterthought she added, "Mitsu and Kimizuki can join us later when they're done with dance practice and work."

Yoichi and Yuu both nodded.

"Sounds good!"

"I'm good with that!"

When nighttime rolled around, Yuu left Shinoa and Mitsuba's dorm in favor of going home.

Kimizuki offered to give both him and Yoichi rides home and the two accepted with Yuu opting to sit in the back. Yoichi had been surprised since Yuu always called shotgun, but Yuu insisted he just felt like taking a backseat this time. The knowing look Kimizuki gave him almost gave him chills.

It appeared as though Kimizuki cleaned up the blood stains Archangel had left on the seats from the week before. Yuu couldn't help but recall the night as Kimizuki dropped him off first. He'd bid good night to both his friends before heading back into his house.

As Yuu entered through the front door and took off his shoes, his hands were at his phone replying to one of Mika's texts.

Since the café, he found himself texting him nonstop. There were paused intervals where Mika went ghost, but after an hour at the most he returned to continue the chat. The two ended up agreeing on going to the same coffee shop tomorrow to meet up once more.

Yuu also came to learn that he and Mika probably missed out on a ton of chance meet ups the past few years. Though Mika didn't go to the same junior high or high school as him, they both went to the same university.

It was crazy to think that this whole time Mika had only been so far away from him and he didn't even know it.

He couldn't help but wonder if they ever brushed shoulders on campus, but both of them had been too preoccupied with their friends or their own thoughts to even notice the other's face.

Fate must have been throwing a party the whole time they finally reunited.

"Goodnight," Yuu voiced plainly as he passed Guren and Shinya from where they sat on the couch watching TV.

Guren didn't avert from his attention from the screen ahead whereas Shinya glanced over at him with a smile. "Oh, hey, Yuuichirou!"

Yuu paused a moment to see what they were watching and the second he realized it was some age old romantic comedy he resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"We ordered pizza not too long ago. It's in the kitchen if you want." Guren informed him with his eyes unmoving from the screen where apparently something funny—or corny, Yuu would argue— happened and Shinya and Guren both began laughing like idiots together.

"Yeah, I'm out of here." Yuu practically droned out before heading into the kitchen to grab a couple slices along with a bottle of water. He bypassed the laughing duo again and headed upstairs.

He supposed he'd just do homework for the rest of the night.

After settling into his room, he had to grunt with a wince when he realized his ribs seemed to be throbbing more.

He gave the left side of his chest a poke and instantly regretted doing so when he released a slight whine of pain.

He'd just have to keep taking pain killers and icing it whenever Guren wasn't around. Google said he'd just have to endure another week before it healed completely.

Yuu settled at his desk with his headphones on and began filtering through his backpack to get to work.

About an hour or two later, he found himself blinking as he gazed up from writing in his notebook with a look toward the door when heard a short and loud knock.

He didn't get to say anything before Guren was suddenly making his way in with a laundry basket balanced on his knee before he released the doorknob to clutch the basket with both hands.

"Apparently some of our things mixed. Grab what's yours and then take the remaining stuff to my room later." Guren stated as he walked further into the room.

Yuu perked up. He removed his headphones and walked over to the basket of washed clothes. "Ah, right. I'll do that now."

Guren turned to walk out and right before he made it to the door he paused abruptly.

"Something wrong…?" Yuu questioned, his green eyes following Guren's line of sight and he found his whole body freezing in realization that he had noticed Archangel's boots that were to end and right side of his bed toward the corner of the room.

The older man's dark eyes slowly moved to look back at Yuu and the teen grunted as he felt a slight twitch come to his eye at the silent, yet incredibly loud judgmental look he was given.

"Wait! I can explain—!"

"Don't wanna know."

With that, Guren quickly exited the room before slamming the door.

Yuu instantly groaned as he got up and began walking toward the boots.

That was entirely his fault for not hiding them in the closet. Though Guren rarely came into his room, he still should have taken the precaution.

Now Guren must have thought he had some weird, kinky fetish for long leather boots or something.

Archangel's clothes were in the corner as well, but he supposed Guren just thought of the pile as a typical part of his room's mess.

Looking at them reminded him of last week…

He was positive Archangel moved on entirely from their encounter, but he honestly wondered if he'd be okay with Yuu still having his clothes.

It felt creepy hoarding it.

His earlier idea of burning it all in a pit came back to mind and he considered how he'd actually execute the plan.

Suddenly, he found himself thrown out from his thoughts as a brief tapping noise hit his balcony window.

He nearly jumped, startled for a moment.

Yuu stared at his curtains that covered his view of his balcony skeptically as if waiting for the tapping to continue. Even though it didn't, he slowly began making his way over.

It wouldn't be the first time Shinoa tried making him sneak out after she threw a bunch of pebbles at his balcony window to catch his attention. But she would have texted him in advance if that were the case…

Yuu gripped the edge of his curtain and pulled it aside to get a view of his darkened terrace.

It was empty.

Except…

Yuu's eyes grew wide at the sight of his red pajama button-up. It was the same one he had given Archangel last week, folded and wrapped up neatly with a bow and an envelope along with it.

That meant—

Yuu rushed to open his balcony's sliding glass door and practically ripped off the bow in order to get to the envelope. He quickly tore it open, getting to the letter within that held a note in rather elegant script.

' _Thank you for your help last week. I am eternally grateful for your kindness. I hope you have been doing well and that the situation didn't get you injured before I intervened._

 _Also, is there any chance of me getting my outfit back? If yes, just leave it out on your balcony. I'll get it within the week. You don't have to wash it or anything either._

 _(If your answer to that is no, I'll be a bit confused… Why would you want my tattered, bloody cloak and stinky boots?)_

– _Sincerely, Your Not-So Secret Admirer'_

Yuu read it over at least five times, a stupid grin plastered on his face.

He returned to his room with the PJ top in his other hand.

This was so damn weird.

A few moments ago, Archangel had literally been on the other side of his balcony and he hadn't even realized.

Two minutes ago, the two of them had only been several feet apart.

So close…

His eyes returned to the letter, going back over the signature and nickname he dubbed himself with.

Rationally speaking, the secret admirer line was just him making use of the card exchange ironically… He probably just didn't want to use Archangel or something.

Either way, Yuu found it really cute.

He couldn't help but smell his pajamas to see if he'd washed it, and sure enough, he did.

Whatever detergent he used smelled really good too.

Alright, so this meant he definitely had to wash Archangel's clothes before returning them… He would just need other stuff to wash alongside it because God knew how pissed off Guren would be if he found out Yuu was only washing like three articles of clothing at a time.

He began walking back to his desk, his eyes trained on the letter given to him once more.

Part of him wished there was more to it to read.

He wanted more contact, more communication, more everything with him.

Yuu realized he probably seemed desperate and perhaps maybe even a little crazy, but… This was the closure he had desired since last week and he was actually getting it now.

He was way too excited about this.

Yuu blinked as his phone began vibrating on his desk. He unlocked it curiously to view the message.

 _From: Mika_

 _Sorry about my late replies, but I'm heading to bed now. Goodnight, Yuu-chan. I'll text you in the morning :)_

 _From: Yuu_

 _It's still super early lol but night, mika_

Yuu put his headphones back on and though he knew he should return to his homework, the glee and excitement inside of him wasn't dying. He also wanted to know more about him besides the basics.

Unable to help himself, he turned on his computer and the first thing he did was pull up Google and began typing in 'Archangel.'

If Shinoa only saw him now… He'd never live it down.

* * *

 **Totally forgot to update this. Will try to be more consistent with the other avaliable chapters lol**


	3. Green

When Yuu woke up he was greeted with the sight of a few notifications on his phone's lock screen as he sleepily went to check for the time.

He rolled onto his side with a yawn, the action resulting in one of his stuffed bears falling near the top of his head and for one particular area in his ribs to ache warningly.

The teen ignored both these things in favor of unlocking his phone.

He was instantly greeted with his newly changed home screen that was some generic meadow with a river in the background. He had removed Archangel from it last night because God knew he couldn't handle the shame of anyone else seeing it again.

When he pulled down the notification window he noticed that the two of them that were situated at the top happened to be texts from Mika. At this, Yuu immediately clicked on one of them to open up the messaging app.

 _From: Mika_

 _Good morning! Lol yeah I rarely go to sleep early, but I was exhausted last night_

 _From: Mika_

 _Oh God… It's super early. I forgot that you're probably a normal teenager. You're most likely still sleeping. This is embarrassing. Just pretend I sent that as soon as you woke up._

Yuu couldn't help but snort in amusement at the second message.

Glancing at the time it was sent, _6:48 am,_ Yuu blinked in surprise.

Well, at least now he knew Mika was an early bird.

 _From: Yuu_

 _Wtf are you doing up before 8 on the weekend tho? Are you part robot?_

As he straightened himself up in bed and gave the group chat he was a part of with his friends a brief look. The moment he did, he really wished he hadn't even bothered opening it.

 _Mitsuba: Are you guys still coming over today?_

 _Kimizuki: Yeah, I should be over in like 30 minutes. I have to drop Mirai off at the shelter for her volunteer work first._

 _Shinoa: Why don't you bring little Mirai over with you? It's been forever since I last saw her_

 _Kimizuki: Do you realize how creepy you sound when you say shit like that, Shinoa?_

 _Shinoa: I just want to make sure she's still shorter than me smh_

 _Yoichi: I'll be over right after work!_

 _Mitsuba: Is Yuu alive or…?_

 _Shinoa: You better hope he is because if he's dead I'll need to redirect all my witty, merciless jokes onto you, Micchan_

 _Mitsuba: If you dare even start with me, you'll be the next one from our group to die_

 _Shinoa: How do you intend to kill me? By strangling me with your robust thighs I'd hope_

 _Mitsuba: Bye._

 _Shinoa: :)_

Yuu debated on even replying. He kind of didn't want to, but it was probably for the best that he did considering he hadn't told them that he was going to be out with Mika.

It was also probably in his best interest that he didn't tell them that little detail at all as well.

He didn't even want to imagine the reactions he'd get, namely from Shinoa. He supposed he'd just be vague about it.

 _Yuu: I'll prob be there way later on idk_

 _Shinoa: Oh?_

 _Mitsuba: Not that I care, but any reason why?_

 _Yuu: I have stuff to do_

 _Shinoa: Eloquent as always_

 _Mitsuba: Uh huh. Well, if you're going to come late you need to bring snacks._

 _Shinoa: Oh! We ran out of nacho cheese dip! Yuu-san, you know what you have to do_

 _Yuu: Fuck you guys get your own snacks_

He placed his phone down in favor of getting up and ready for the day.

The moment he opened his door, the smell of bacon and eggs filled his nose and he immediately knew Guren was cooking.

After he went to the bathroom to freshen up as well as take a couple more pain killers for his chest, which was actually beginning to feel way better now when he left them alone, Yuu made his way downstairs.

As the teen entered the kitchen he found that his earlier assumption had been correct.

Guren was at one side of the kitchen ahead of the stove frying eggs whereas Shinya was stationed on the other side before the coffee machine.

"Morning." Yuu greeted and Guren turned to him curiously.

"Oh. You're up. Get some plates out."

Yuu waved him off. "Yeah, yeah." He walked further in to the cabinet with the plates and as he reached up, he heard the toaster go off _loud._

The resulting noise caused both him and Guren jump in surprise, entirely off guard.

He clutched the ceramic plates in his hands tighter and the three clattered together.

It wasn't even two seconds later that Shinya gave a loud, near obnoxious laugh of amusement.

Yuu whirled around to give the older man an irritated leer and Guren did the same, the two more annoyed than embarrassed.

Though Yuu had to admit he was pretty embarrassed.

Their toaster was so damn loud, he didn't know why they didn't get a new one already.

When Shinya's laughter persisted, Guren growled while Yuu set the plates on the counter near the stove.

"Shut the hell up, Shinya!"

"You both jumped like ten feet in the air! That was so funny!"

"You're so fucking annoying. I bet you were waiting on that to happen too."

"Well, I won't deny that…"

"You're not getting any eggs."

"Wait, no. I was kidding, Guren. I'm sorry!"

"Enjoy your bare toast."

"It's not my fault your toaster's so loud though!?"

As the two continued to quarrel, Yuu went for the silverware and cups.

When he was reached into the fridge for the orange juice, he got the typical urge to go check his phone and he was reminded he left it in his room.

From thinking of Mika replied to his earlier text, a realization dawned on Yuu as he now grinned over at Guren.

"I completely forgot to tell you this yesterday and I have no idea how," Yuu began while Guren started distributing the eggs from the pan onto their plates.

Guren raised a brow in his direction and Yuu continued, "I met Mika yesterday when I was out with Shinoa and Yoichi!" He brightly informed him. "We're going to hang out a bit today to catch up!"

At this, Guren blankly watched back at him. "… Who is Mika?"

"Ugh, you're seriously such an old man. Mika! Mikaela, from Hyakuya Orphanage!"

Guren's dark eyes widened a bit, but before he could comment, Shinya was walking to his side with his plate in hand.

"That's great! He'd been adopted from there before you, right?" The light haired man inquired with a kind smile.

Yuu shook his head. "No, that's what makes it even more exciting! He was the boy who was always sick that I told you about a while back. I thought for sure he didn't make it, but apparently he was adopted sometime between when I was and the fire."

His explanation was met with brief looks between the two adults as the trio made their way to the dining room table.

Once seated, Guren gave Yuu a plain expression. "Mika is his name, eh? Were you two close?"

Yuu blinked his eyes. After taking in a forkful of eggs and chewing, he swallowed, "I mean… Everyone at the orphanage considered each other close…" He trailed off with a hand going to his chin. "Now that you mention it, I think my feelings may be one sided here."

That left a weird sensation in himself.

He had that striking fear that Mika wouldn't have remembered him when the blond had been stuck staring at him at their first encounter in the café. The stare had been riddled with shock, caution, and confusion. His blue eyes watched at him on guard like he was a complete stranger…

It'd been brief, but terrifying nonetheless.

And now, the more he thought about it, even though Mika knew his name, it hadn't really occurred to him that all this excitement and attachment he felt to Mika was only on his part.

In their text exchanges, Mika gave no indication that the eagerness to reconnect was exclusive to Yuu's end. In fact, he seemed just as enthusiastic about it all…

So maybe he was overthinking things.

"I'm just excited that I'll be able to talk to and hang out with him, honestly. Regardless if we were close back then, I'd love to get close to him now. Back at the orphanage, I'd always wanted to get to know him better." Yuu confessed with a smile at the thought.

Those ritual days of reading to Mika seemed so long ago now.

Around seven years or so at this point, but it felt like a whole other lifetime had gone by.

"You should invite him over soon!" Shinya brightly exclaimed and when Yuu met his eyes, he grinned at him widely. "It'd be nice to have him over for dinner or something—"

"Shinya, you do _not_ live here. Why are you inviting people over?" Guren gave him a flat stare that both Yuu and Shinya snickered at.

Between his laughs, Yuu looked over at Guren pleasantly, "I would love to have him over though. Everyone at the orphanage had a special bond and I want it to keep that bond intact with Mika… Especially since we're most likely the only two left and all." He ended with his smile giving into a more sorrowful way.

"He's welcomed here anytime." Guren announced with a nod right after Yuu's sentence ceased.

Yuu's demeanor immediately brightened.

When he finished with his breakfast Yuu retreated back to his room.

The first thing he did when he entered was make his way over to his balcony door to open the curtains.

He was granted a clear view of the area beyond the glass doors as the morning sun shone inside of his room brightly.

Archangel was going to come back soon for his clothes…

He wanted to see him this time. He needed a chance to verbally speak to him.

Yuu wondered if he'd show up if he staked it out on the balcony all night in his beanbag chair.

Probably not.

He wasn't about to leave video cameras out to catch sight of him either though.

Just the thought of doing something like that made him feel like a creep.

Anyways, he still had to wash Archangel's clothes.

Although in his note he said he didn't have to do it, Yuu felt obligated to. It was only fair considering his pajama top was cleaned.

He already knew Guren would pitch a fit if he found out he was only washing three pieces of clothing at a time.

So he supposed that he would just have to hand wash them then.

Yuu's thoughts settled on that while he moved back to sit on his bed where his phone was still situated.

He unlocked it and was greeted with a message from Mika along with other notifications from his other social media accounts.

 _From: Mika_

 _Lol it's just how my body works. Can't really help it_

For a moment he wondered if it was possibly a medical reason.

He couldn't forget how fragile Mika's health had been a couple of years back… Having it all 100% fixed would be a miracle. The blond probably still dealt with taking a bunch of medication.

That would explain his body's internal clock being so off.

 _From: Yuu_

 _That's fine tho Im actually kinda jealous. Being up that early gives you more chances to be productive or whatever_

 _From: Mika_

 _Hmm.. Fair point. But if anything I'm jealous of you pft sleeping in late must feel amazing_

 _From: Yuu_

 _It does but only until you remember how much shit you missed out on doing by being lazy lmao. Btw we still on for the café at 2?_

 _From: Mika_

 _Yup! :)_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Pssh that's the only acceptable answer_

Yuu set his phone aside prior to getting up from the bed and toward his closet where Archangel's clothes laid on the floor.

As he placed the small pile on his bed, his immediate thoughts fleeting to how he was going to get the big blotches of bloodstains out.

Looks like he had a mission.

Three hours of aggressive scrubbing, splashing detergent water on both himself and his room floor, and pruned hands later, Yuu finally managed to become somewhat satisfied with his work.

The bloodstains refused to get out any more than he managed to at that point.

He was pretty sure that was what a majority of those three hours were spent doing aside from letting them soak in the basin.

Well, that and snapchatting his friends, who all seemed to be under the impression he was doing chores instead of hanging out with them.

When he was finished with that, Yuu proceeded to hang up each of the top wear by the curtain pole of his balcony.

After he opened the balcony door for fresh air to dry them faster, Yuu went back to his phone for the time being.

He was cutting it close, but if he sped walk a little he could probably make it to the café on time.

Though he had some hesitance to leave the cloak, jacket, and black button up just hanging there for Guren or even Shinya to see if they decided to walk into his room, he supposed he would just have to risk it.

Guren only ever came into his room when he needed to speak to him or something and if he wasn't there, there was no way he'd come in.

Grabbing his phone, Yuu made his way downstairs before heading out the door.

* * *

"Yo, Mika!" Yuu instantly called out the moment he turned the street corner and saw the blonde standing outside the coffee shop's door.

He hadn't put much thought into how strange he must have appeared by shouting out to him so early when he was halfway down the street.

Other pedestrians gave him odd looks, but Yuu didn't particularly care.

Yuu grinned with a wave as he rushed a bit more to reach him.

When Mika turned to look over at him, his stoic demeanor immediately melted from the second his eyes met with Yuu's and a smile came to his lips.

"Good afternoon, Yuu-chan." He greeted right as Yuu bounded up on him.

His chest still had slight discomfort to it especially from that small jog, but he ignored it in favor of beaming up at Mika brightly.

"Hey! Sorry about being…" Yuu trailed off while pulling his phone out his pocket to view the time. "Er… 22 minutes late?" He scratched the back of his head as he laughed a little with the realization that he was really damn late coming onto him, "I hope I didn't make you wait too long!"

Mika shook his head, a reassuring expression on his face. "No, no, I didn't wait long at all. You look like you were rushing here though. You shouldn't have pushed yourself."

Yuu snorted, his eyes watching the blond in amusement. "I shouldn't have pushed myself? You make it seem like I could have just left you hanging here for an hour and you wouldn't have been upset."

He then turned to the entrance to open the door. However, before he could, one of Mika's hands grasped the handle and pulled open the door for him with a pleasant smile.

"After you." Mika voiced with a gesture inside the shop after the bell that alerted their arrival rang overhead.

"Yeah, yeah." Yuu rolled his eyes though a smile was still on his face, "But seriously, I really am sorry about being late. Didn't want you to think I was flaking on you or something."

As he spoke he walked further inside the café. His green eyes zeroed in on a small table toward the back wall that had two chairs on either side of it while he felt Mika trailing behind him.

Having been here so often in the past few years really made the place littered with familiarity.

He wondered how long Mika had been coming here. Apparently, it was long enough that he was a known special customer.

As they sat at the table, Yuu came to notice Yoichi serving two older women and a kid toward the front. After the brunet finished writing down their orders, his olive green eyes turned to where Yuu and Mika were situated.

Yuu waved at him with a grin and Yoichi blinked a couple times in surprise before he caught himself and reciprocated the expression prior to returning back to work.

He had no problem with Yoichi knowing he was here with Mika. Unlike the others, he wouldn't make a big deal of it or anything.

"I'm assuming you don't have a car." Mika remarked with a curious glint in his light eyes.

Yuu leaned back in his chair with pursed lips. "Unfortunately. I mean, the buses and trains get me where I need to go, but it'd be nicer to run on my own time."

The blonde nodded in understanding. "I get what you mean. It'd be impossible for me to get around without my car since I'm always all over the place with my schedule. Public transportation just isn't my thing either. I'd rather brave traffic than be squished up on a train."

At this, Yuu's eyes lit up and Mika noticed with a bit of surprise on his face, "You have a car!? What kind!?"

Before the blond could answer, one of the waitresses of the café came upon their table.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. What can I get for you both today?" She pressed her pen against her notepad and regarded them with a polite smile. "If you need more time to decide, I can come back in like two minutes."

Yuu looked up at her with a grin, "I'll take a white hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and caramel drizzle. Also a slice of red velvet cake… The bigger the slice, the better." He ended with a short laugh.

"Sure thing!" The brunette nodded her head while scribbling down his order. She then turned to Mika. "And for you?"

"Just a cup of water." He shortly answered while he pushed his menu to the side.

His words made Yuu's eyebrows crease in confusion as the waitress hurried off with a promise to return soon.

Yuu watched at the blond strangely. "Is that seriously all you're getting? No coffee? No cake? Not even a cookie or muffin?"

Mika, now realizing the reason behind Yuu's judgmental look, let out a snort. "Trust me, I'm fine. But I can already feel myself getting cavities from _your_ order." A smile of amusement made its way to his lips. "Extra whipped cream and caramel drizzle? That's so much sugar."

"I don't know if you've ever tried it before, but their white hot chocolate is always so good." Yuu defended himself before shrugging, "I honestly suspect they put some kind of drug in their sugar here though. Everything sweet is just so addicting."

Yuu regarded Mika in interest then. "So what do _you_ usually order when you're here?"

"Oh, I always get a latte macchiato. But I like it made a particular way…" He glanced up and over toward the front of the shop. "There's only one woman that works here that knows how to do it the way I like. But she's not here today. She's usually here on Thursdays, which is the day I normally come in."

His explanation made Yuu give a short laugh that earned him a curious look from the blonde.

He could recall what Yoichi had told him yesterday about Mika being a special customer.

It was actually funny to hear it from him himself.

"You must be really picky about your food and stuff," Yuu remarked.

Mika scratched his cheek sheepishly while his blue eyes averted from Yuu's gaze. "My sense of taste is just really acute to detail."

At that moment, Yuu felt his phone begin vibrating wildly within his pocket. He reached for it while replying with, "you know, you should be on one of those cooking shows on TV. You could be one of the judges on those competitions if your palate is that good."

"I'll be sure to just check that off as a potential career path."

Yuu laughed a bit as he unlocked his phone and directed himself to his friends' group chat where Yoichi just contributed a message.

 _Yoichi: Yuu is having a secret date with Mikaela guys haha_

Yuu felt his right eye twitch.

Immediately his head snapped over around the café in an attempt to find where the brunet was in order to give him the dirtiest, most intimidating 'I'm gunna kick your ass later' glare he could muster, but to his annoyance, Yoichi was nowhere to be found.

The little traitor was probably hiding in the back.

"Yuu-chan?" He heard Mika question out beckoningly while Yuu began typing back into the group chat before anyone else could.

 _Yuu: Its not a date!_

"Hm?" Yuu gazed up from his phone curiously to meet the blonde's eyes.

Caution riddled Mika's face as he stared back at him in uncertainty and his lips were turned into a slight frown. "This is kind of weird to say out loud, but I feel like I should just as a disclaimer. I really don't want to go over any personal boundaries you may have considering we 'just met' in a sense. But I have a question—"

"Whoa, wait. Hold on." Yuu held up a hand to signal him to pause.

At the same time, the waitress came back with their orders. As she placed the drinks and slice of cake before the two of them Yuu squinted at Mika.

"What do you mean we 'just met'? What is that supposed to mean? I've known you since we were like 8 years old." Yuu firmly stated all the while giving Mika a stubborn look, almost daring him to say otherwise.

Mika sighed, though a small smile came to his lips. "Yuu-chan, you know what I mean… We knew of each other, but—"

"But what? I was literally by your side every day for like four years. You remembered my name and the times I was with you. We aren't strangers, Mika."

"You… I don't think it works like that." Mika quietly retorted and his blonde brows knitted. He appeared to be thinking of a way to properly express his thoughts. "We are strangers to an extent."

"Don't say that—"

"What's my favorite color then?" Mika cut him off with a plain look his way.

Yuu blinked his eyes in confusion at the sudden random question. "Your favorite color? What? Why would I…? … Oh."

When Mika's hand went to his mouth to cover his short chuckle, Yuu fully realized how he pretty much just walked right into that one.

Though he felt foolish, he simply pursed his lips and looked away stubbornly.

Yuu stuck his fork in his cake before bringing a piece to his mouth. "That's irrelevant! I don't know any of my friends' favorite colors anyways!"

He took another forkful of cake and went to nip at the whipped cream from his drink.

"Yuu-chan—"

"Okay, I'll admit that we don't really know each other well… Which is normal since we haven't seen each other in like seven years…" Yuu said with a shrug before he looked Mika in the eyes firmly, "but that's fine with me. I just don't want you treating me like some awkward, old classmate from primary school. I want us to be comfortable with each other, if that's alright with you! Let's be close, like we both wanted to be back at Hyakuya!"

The teen ended his words with a grin that nearly wavered when he saw Mika staring back at him almost mystified.

For a moment, he briefly worried if he came on too strong, but that worry was quickly erased when he saw the blonde's face flushing a bright red hue and his hand moving to cover his mouth while he shyly stared down at the table.

What a cute reaction.

Yuu couldn't help but laugh a little even at Mika's expense.

"I'll assume the feeling is mutual then!" He snickered before leaning forward. "So what was it that you were going to ask earlier?"

Mika released a breath, his hand lowering from his mouth and his azure eyes timidly meeting with Yuu's, "I had just wanted to know what happened to you all these years. Were you the only one from the orphanage that… You know?" He chose his words carefully, not wanting to explicitly say what Yuu was able to pick up on.

The thought of the fire made Yuu swallow thickly.

He ran a hand through his hair as he said, "I got adopted about month or so before the fire happened… Not sure if you noticed it or not."

Yuu tried to give a smile, but even he felt himself fail. "I thought everyone that I left behind there died in it, including you. So I'm not sure if there was anyone that managed to get adopted sometime after me besides you."

"You didn't leave anyone behind." Mika frowned. "You were only a kid back then and you finally got a chance to be adopted. Even in hindsight there was nothing you could have done."

Mika then paused and appeared as though he was going to continue speaking, but he held himself back. The reluctance that marked his face for a brief second didn't go pass Yuu, who watched at him reassuringly.

"Hey, just because I said I want us to be comfortable with each other, doesn't mean you have to force yourself to tell me things you don't want to." Yuu gently assured the other male. "Genuine relationships don't really work if you push yourself rather than let things happen naturally, yeah?"

Mika blinked his eyes once as he stared at Yuu silently before a smile grew on his face. "Just as I thought, you really are a kind person."

"... Are you mocking me?" Yuu questioned with a squint pointed the blonde's way before he took another sip of his hot chocolate.

The blonde's messy hair flowed nicely as he shook his head, his smile not faltering. "No, no, seriously. Since we were younger, I could always tell how gentle you were. Your voice when you read and spoke to me was always so... Soft?" Mika decided on describing and Yuu felt his face heat up despite himself.

He returned his attention to his cake as the unexpected praise kept coming.

"Those days when you would just speak to me as though you expected a response were the worst. I felt so bad that I couldn't properly reply. But you still always came in and tried for conversation every day despite that. You have no idea how much you kept me sane."

Yuu released a slight breath. "It was nothing, really. I had just wanted you to get better so we could hang out... Like we are right now."

Mika glanced down at his water. "I wanted the same. Though I guess at the time, it was more like I hoped we'd be able to read a book together." His confession was made with a bit of pink to his cheeks and Yuu stared at him with mild disbelief, his own face still feeling incredibly warm.

Why was he the one blushing and getting embarrassed?

If anything, Yuu should be the one that was flustered.

"Geez, you're so straightforward." Yuu mumbled in between a few forkfuls of his cake.

Mika's eyes widened and he gave a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry if I sounded creepy! I honestly didn't intend to!"

Yuu waved him off, his face still red. "Nah, not creepy. Just… I can relate too. You already know that every day I'd be in the clinic whining about you needing to get healthy already so you could play with me and the others."

It was then that Yuu raised his eyes to meet with Mika's once more and he wasn't sure whether he regretted it or not.

Mika gave him a gentle smile, one that Yuu could only feel himself growing more fidgety at the sight of. "I really think our meeting again is fate's way of giving us a second a chance at all of that."

Unable to maintain eye contact, Yuu quickly reached for his cocoa. Without hesitation, he brought the rim to his lips and gulped down a mouthful of it.

The second he did, he knew he made a big mistake.

He completely underestimated how hot it still was.

His gracious reward was the sensation that one would receive should they ever take a sip from one of hell's lakes.

Yuu staggered and flailed in his seat as he forced himself to swallow the still steaming hot drink. He felt it go down his throat, the temperature burning at his insides.

Mika watched his struggle and pushed his cup of water toward him. "It's still cold… I think you need it way more than me."

Yuu gave him a thankful look before bringing the glass to his lips and downing the water.

Though the cool temperature soothed his tongue, it was a temporary comfort. Not too long after he felt the stinging sensation return.

"If my taste buds got incinerated from that, I'm going to be so pissed off, damn it." He practically whined out before taking another gulp of Mika's water.

Mika's attention turned to his cell phone momentarily and Yuu continued drinking the water, his mouth allowing it to rest on his burnt tongue for a bit before swallowing.

"Sorry about stealing this. I'll buy you another one." Yuu sheepishly stated when he came to realize his repeated gulps nearly emptied the cup.

"Oh, no. It's alright. I wasn't really thirsty anyways. I just bought it to buy it." Mika reassured him as he glanced up from his phone with a smile.

Yuu tilted his head to the side. "So you're just not going to eat or drink anything?"

Mika shook his head. "I told already, I'm fine! I'm just not hungry or thirsty, aha." With his reassurance and his blue eyes returning to his phone screen, Yuu was reminded of his own phone.

He hadn't even noticed it vibrating earlier.

Now his notifications were littered with texts from his friends' group chat.

 _Shinoa: Yuu-san has a date with that delectable specimen from the café? I see now. This is why you flaked on us. Hmmm, you'll be forgiven for this betrayal to the squad if you buy us two nacho cheese dips, instant noodles, and some cherry soda when you come over. Yoichi, keep us updated on them if you can with anything noteworthy_

 _Mitsuba: Please never call an actual living, breathing person a delectable specimen ever again._

 _Mitsuba: And I don't know who Mikaela is and I honestly don't care about Yuu's love life. Why are we discussing it?_

 _Kimizuki: I was wondering the same._

 _Shinoa: Would you guys rather I discuss your love lives? Oh, Micchan… Don't think I haven't noticed you eyeing my irresistible body lately. I won't shame you because your taste is impeccable._

 _Mitsuba: Shut up, Shinoa._

 _Yoichi: Guyssss, Yuu and Mikaela just shared drinks! Well, Yuu drank from Mikaela's but that counts as something noteworthy I think._

 _Shinoa: That's second hand kissing, Yuu-san, you little minx. Don't give up too much, it's only your first date!_

 _Mitsuba: There goes his first kiss_

 _Kimizuki: Figures that his first one would be "second-hand." No one wants to lock lips with someone like him._

 _Shinoa: He's too wrapped up in his date to even reply to us_

 _Shinoa: Is Mikaela-san stealing Yuu-san from us already?_

 _Shinoa: Kimizuki, Micchan, you two have to win him back_

 _Kimizuki: How about you do that?_

 _Shinoa: I'll sooner get a breast reduction before fighting for Yuu-san's hand in marriage_

 _Mitsuba: … That's quite possibly the most relatable thing you've ever said, Shinoa_

 _Kimizuki: There's a first time for everything._

 _Shinoa: I'll be sure to tell you that when you finally get a boyfriend, Kimizuki_

 _Kimizuki: And I'll repeat that when you finally get into Mitsuba's pants._

 _Mitsuba: Don't bring me into your dumb banter._

 _Shinoa: Kimizuki, you better stand down before you become the next Yuu-san. You and I both know I have enough sexual jokes about you and Yoichi resting in the back of my head to last us until retirement_

 _Yoichi: Please leave me out of this too omg he was only joking around Shinoa_

 _Shinoa: This is what happens when Yuu-san isn't here for me to tease. Someone find my little black haired target please. I miss him_

 _Yuu: Stfu shinoa youre all so annoying_

 _Yuu: AND STOP UPDATING THEM ON SHIT, YOICHI JFC_

Yuu once again glanced up in search for Yoichi somewhere within the café, but his results this time were met with the sight of the brunet carrying a tray of lattes and sandwiches to a table with a single older male on the patio outside, oblivious to the exaggerated glare his friend was shooting him.

After that, Yuu turned his attention back to Mika and the blond watched back at him with a raised brow.

It was evident that he'd seen him leering at Yoichi's back, but before Yuu could explain the situation, Mika leaned his chin on his hands while leaning forward on the table as he spoke.

"Do you have it out for that waiter or something? If so, just say the word and I'll back you up in a fight against him." The blonde stated seriously, though the underlying tones of playfulness were evident in his voice.

Yuu snorted. "I think it's best we don't fight him. He may be too much for us. And I think he may have some scary friends too." At the end of his words, he gave Mika a smile, now remembering an earlier thought of his.

"So what's your story, Mika?" He inquired with interest.

Mika's head tilted to the side a bit. "My story?" He repeated with a tinge of confusion.

Yuu nodded as he leaned forward, his eyes wide and bright with curiosity. "Yeah, like how you got adopted and what not. Also, when did you start getting better?"

At this, Mika's lips pressed into a flat, neutral line and his posture seemed to become much more guarded. Yuu observed the demeanor change as the blonde pushed some of his hair from before his blue eyes.

He prepared to tell him that he didn't have to explain anything to him if he didn't want to, but before he could, Mika spoke up with his eyes glancing out to shop's large windows to the street beyond.

"After I was adopted I started getting healthier," Mika answered shortly.

There was something that made Yuu understand there was way more to it than that. The lack of eye contact and the change in his temperament signaled that much.

However, he wasn't going to press on it.

Whatever it was, Mika obviously didn't want to elaborate on.

Instead, he chose to take the conversation into a different direction, "So do you like your new family? Well, I guess I shouldn't say 'new' since you've been with them for like seven years now, but you know what I mean! What are they like!?" Yuu grinned at him.

Mika's expression changed, but not in the way Yuu had been anticipating.

A smile made its way to his lips, but it wasn't a happy smile.

He looked tired.

Mika gazed down at the table now, his blue eyes filled with an emotion Yuu had difficulty placing… Perhaps it was actually apathy? He wasn't sure, but regardless, it signaled the topic hadn't been moved to a more positive one.

"Honestly speaking, I don't like them much at all. I know that sounds really bad, but at the very least I'm grateful they gave me a reason to continue living on at this point." Mika's gaze lifted from the tabletop to meet with Yuu's green eyes.

Momentarily, Yuu found himself breathless as he and Mika maintained eye contact for a few, silent seconds.

He wanted to say something, however, his chance was taken by another interruption.

Their waitress returned to their table side, her polite smile still to her lips. "Is there anything else I can get for you two or would that be all?"

Mika glanced over at Yuu, wordlessly asking if he was finished and Yuu brought his mug to his mouth to finish off the remnants of his cocoa.

"We're finished." Mika informed her simply while Yuu placed the mug back down.

With a nod the woman laid their bill at the center of the table before giving them a bow and heading back toward the front counter.

Yuu allowed his hand to go into his pocket for his wallet. When he didn't feel it in his front two, he rose up a little in order to check his back pockets.

Both were flat and very much empty.

Shit.

In between his rising stress levels as he began frantically checking every single pocket on his person, he hadn't even noticed Mika picking up the paper receipt from the table.

He wondered if he could get Guren to bring him his wallet.

No, that would just be a waste of a call or text. There was no way he'd do that for him.

Oh, man.

Maybe if he got Yoichi to lend him some money and assured him he'd pay him back later—

"Yuu-chan, I'll pay for you."

Mika's voice broke him out of his rapid and elaborate critical planning thoughts.

He had to blink a couple times as his brain registered the male's words in shock.

The blond gave a slight chuckle, presumably at the expression Yuu was giving him at the moment while he brought out his wallet and placed several bills on the table, "I invited you here in the first place. It's only fair."

Yuu wanted to tell him "No" and "That actually isn't fair at all" but he honestly wasn't in any position to.

He was such an idiot. How the hell did he leave his wallet at home?

Yuu rubbed the back of his neck with an apprehensive smile, "Thank you, Mika… But next time we go out, it'll be my treat, alright?"

Mika hadn't even eaten or drank anything, and yet he was paying for everything. Yuu couldn't help the guilt that bubbled up inside of his stomach.

However, Mika simply laughed into his fist as he began standing up from his seat. His eyes watched at Yuu in amusement. "Honestly, the thought of spoiling you seems like a privilege. I'll have to try hard to accept that offer."

"The hell do you mean it seems like a privilege?" Yuu bluntly questioned out before he even had a chance to filter it.

He could feel his face beginning to grow warm again.

"I told you already… You kept me sane for so many years at Hyakuya. You're a big reason why I'm still alive. Showing my gratitude to you for that in any way would be an honor." Mika honestly answered with that damned charming smile he had used earlier.

Yuu stared back at him, feeling too stupefied and flustered to even respond properly.

Mika paused for a moment as he looked about ready to walk away. An expression of sudden realization dawned on him before he fleetingly said, "I almost forgot! It's green!"

"Wha?" Yuu instantly replied, his confusion now beginning to override his awkwardness.

The blond beamed at him brightly, his head tilting to the side slightly as his eyes closed, "My favorite color. It's green. When I was younger, I had always wanted to go outside and play with you guys. After I got healthier, sitting outside surrounded by nature and all its greenness… It was really nice. So I love the color green." He informed Yuu before giving him a cheerful wave.

"Bye, Yuu-chan! I'll text you later, alright?"

Yuu found himself waving back dumbly, too dazzled to really comprehend everything.

He remained seated, his eyes watching at Mika until the blond entirely disappeared from view beyond the door.

If anything, that Sleeping Beauty nickname they gave him a while back was slightly off. Honestly, he seemed more like a prince charming type of person. With those looks and that kind of personality, he was probably really popular too.

"Yuu, how did your reunion with Mikaela go?"

The familiar, soft spoken voice brought Yuu out of his thoughts.

Yoichi looked over at him with a smile as he began placing the dishes from their table onto a tray.

Yuu's eyes instantly narrowed and he reached over to pull one of Yoichi's cheeks between two of his fingers. "Don't think you're off the hook, you little traitor!"

The brunet laughed through the pain. "Ow! Ow! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He apologized until Yuu released him.

"The reunion was good though… I think we really connected, if that makes sense." He admitted as he stood up to his feet.

Yoichi rubbed at his cheek tenderly. "Aha, I'm happy for you!" After his words, he reached for the receipt and money before placing them alongside the dishes on his tray. "Also, my shift is basically over so if you wait a little bit, we can head over to Shinoa and Mitsuba's together?"

With a shrug, Yuu plopped back down in his seat, "Yeah, sure. That sounds good. I'll just wait here."

"Mmhm!" Yoichi smiled at him before turning to return to the front counter.

Yuu leaned his elbow on the table and rested the side of his head into his hand while he scrolled through his phone idly.

After around five minutes, he brought out his headphones from his pockets to start looking at the funny animals Vine page. As he began untangling them, the bell to the café's entrance rang overhead.

Since arriving with Mika, the bell had gone off several times, but being in the presence of the blond made everything else background noise. Now, without Mika to focus his attention on, Yuu's gaze nosily turned to the door where the newcomer arrived.

It was a tall man with silver hair that appeared to be pulled into a ponytail by a dark ribbon. Though he wore sunglasses, judging from the expensive looking clothes he wore and the confident way he walked, Yuu's immediate thought was that he was some sort of model.

As he approached the woman at the register, Yuu was given a better look of the male's long, light hair.

Unlike Shinya's softer silver hair, this man's own appeared more bold and striking.

Admittedly, it was pretty.

His mouth was moving and Yuu unknowingly allowed himself to watch at him intently. It wasn't until the male turned to look in his direction that Yuu realized he'd been staring very hard.

Despite the fact he had sunglasses on, Yuu was just able to tell that the man was looking dead at him.

He fought back at the embarrassment within himself and prepared to look away, but before he could, the older male gave him a friendly, toothless smile.

A chill immediately ran throughout his body at the sight even as the man now turned to exit out the coffee shop.

The bell rang just as it did when he entered and Yuu inwardly smacked himself for getting caught gawking.

Yuu watched him until he all but disappeared down the street as he'd done with Mika with an odd look as the unnerving sensation in his body began to wane.

That was weird…

He glanced down at his hands and flexed his fingers in an attempt to shake off the strange feeling.

Before he could really think further into it, Yoichi was approaching him.

"Are you ready to go?" His friend asked curiously, now out of his work uniform and into his more casual wear.

Yuu nodded up at him slowly. "Yeah, yeah… Let's hurry." His green eyes glanced back out the door ahead, his mind returning to the strange man from before.

As the two left the café, it wasn't even ten minutes into walking together that Yoichi shifted their conversation topic into that of Yuu's time with Mika.

Not that he was really surprised or anything.

Even so, Yuu narrowed his eyes at him dangerously. "Are you only asking so you have more information to spill to the group chat?"

"Nooo!" Yoichi nervously waved off at him. "Listen, I only did it because yesterday Shinoa had a feeling the two of you would have had a date at the café together at some point! So she made me promise to inform the chat about it the moment that it happened!"

Yuu's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "How the hell would Shinoa anything about that? And it wasn't even a date. It was just a reunion." He clarified with a slight grumble.

His companion gave a short laugh of understanding before Yuu continued, "I don't know what you all take me for, but I'm not about to stick my dick up a guy's ass just because I've known him since childhood… Actually, you know what? That sounded really weird. Let's pretend I never even said it." He quickly ended, entirely thankful only Yoichi had been there to hear it.

* * *

Thankfully, his interactions with his friends weren't any more uncomfortable and obnoxious than they usually were when he and Yoichi arrived at the girls' dorm room.

Shinoa threw out a joke or two, but that was typical.

The topic of his time with Mika didn't get scrutinized and that was what really mattered.

The five of them went from playing a few rounds of Evil Apples on their phones to Words with Friends, with Shinoa and Kimizuki bringing in the most wins from both games respectively. After that, they all floated their way to social media.

Yuu occupied himself at the end of Mitsuba's bed, his socked feet were pressed up against the wall while he laid on his back watching short funny videos with his headphones in. Mitsuba sat on her own bed, her back braced against her pillows and headboards. On the other side of the room on Shinoa's bed, Shinoa and Yoichi both sat back to back, leaning on one another for support, though it was obvious Shinoa was benefiting more from their positions given how much smaller she was compared to Yoichi. Kimizuki sat at Mitsuba's computer chair, his position closer to Shinoa's bed while he tapped away at his phone.

They had been like that for about an hour, mostly enveloped in silence aside from Yuu's occasional outbursts of laughter when something unexpectedly hilarious happened onscreen.

It was then, that out of nowhere, Mitsuba spoke up. "Apparently there's three Horsemen of John rampaging like 16 kilometers from here, yikes… This isn't good." She made a cringe while she scrolled down her Twitter timeline.

Yuu instantly glanced over at her in surprise along with the other four in the room.

Yoichi was the first to reply. "Ahh… That's not good at all… I hope Archangel shows up quickly before they do more damage."

At the mention of Archangel, Yuu found himself biting his bottom lip tensely.

He quickly switched to his news app on his phone and it appeared about two minutes the headline _West Suginami under lockdown due to Four Horsemen of John attack_ had been breaking.

Yuu found himself reading through the article quickly, but due to the fact the story was still developing, there wasn't much.

He kept refreshing the page for just about the next five minutes, a new sense of anxiety weaving its way through his body.

"Hurry up, bastard. People need you…" The dark haired teen muttered lowly to himself as he switched from the news app to go searching for another news source that may have had more information on the situation.

The police were there now apparently, but he didn't care for that. He wished they didn't risk themselves when Archangel could just swoop by and take care of everything quickly with no casualties.

After about five more minutes of inwardly stressing his brain out, a news alert appeared on his phone.

 _Archangel arrives at West Suginami's Four Horsemen of John situation_.

Unable to help himself, Yuu released a cheer and pumped one of his fist in the air. "Fuck yeah!"

Instantly, he felt all of his friends turning to look at him questioningly for his abrupt outburst and Yuu grinned while looking over at each of them. "Archangel's made it there! Those monsters are finished!"

He tried as he could to ignore the stupid smirk that grew on Shinoa's face and also the exasperated look Kimizuki seemed to wear.

Mitsuba raised a brow at him. "You sound… Very excited." She settled on saying and Yuu found his face warming up a bit.

"I'm not excited." He denied before he turned his attention back to his phone stubbornly.

Yoichi, now redeeming himself from his earlier betrayal, took mercy on Yuu's case as he said, "People being saved is definitely something worth being excited for!"

Yuu gazed over at him gratefully with a nod. "Yes, that's very true, Yoichi! Though to clarify, even if I was excited, that's exactly what I would have been excited for."

On Yoichi's other side, Shinoa put a hand to her mouth causing Yuu to glare at her before she could even start talking. He just knew whatever came out of her mouth next was going to be _annoying_.

"Apparently the monsters are done for and Archangel already left the scene." Kimizuki now informed the room as he read off his phone. "He works fast…" He added in lowly.

Yuu's eyes brightened up while he eyed Kimizuki. "What's the casualty count? Wait, who am I kidding, Archangel was there, no one died. What's the injury count? Did Archangel get hurt at all? My news sites suck, what's yours saying?" He insistently inquired.

Kimizuki scoffed before giving him an irritated look. "Go follow an Archangel update account or something. I have no idea."

"Yuu's just curious!" Yoichi laughed a little in his defense once more.

"That curiosity came completely out of nowhere." The ponytailed blonde remarked plainly with a blank stare Yuu's way.

Before Yuu could speak up, Shinoa interjected. "Everyone, Yuu-san is just feeling the budding emotions of a fanboy's love. It is our duty as his family to both support him and remind him he has a very, very slim to none chance of ever ending up with the object of his affection. This way he can still cheerlead for Archangel, but he won't go overboard obsessive and start killing people because he actually thinks he'll marry him one day."

"Shinoa, I will pay you to shut up for the rest of your life."

"How much?"

"One yen."

"I'll be quiet for an hour for a measly 100,000 yen."

"You drive a hard bargain… Two yen. For you to shut up in this life and the afterlife."

"I'll pay you both with a punch in the face to get out the room if you're going to keep going on like this," Mitsuba bluntly interrupted.

Her words served as way for Shinoa to transfer her attention from Yuu to the blonde.

The two began to bicker and Yuu, despite having a tinge of shame about his newfound interest in Archangel, began searching up more on Archangel.

Unsurprisingly, there was a whole corner on the Internet dedicated to him. He had quite the fan following based off of what Yuu had seen so far.

Even so, he had serious doubts that out of all these people there was anyone else that had the same experience that he was currently having with Archangel.

Passing notes on a balcony after having dragged his unconscious body home.

Thinking it all over now was way more fun and exciting.

Not to mention, the fact that Archangel was only doing this with him made everything feel all the more special.

He wasn't sure whether or not Archangel would return again after Yuu gave him his clothes back, but he supposed he'd just have hope so.

Maybe he should make his reply note have something worthy of another response…

However, that thought was pushed away as Mitsuba abruptly stood to her feet on her bed, causing the mattress to shift and Yuu to grunt while sitting upward. The blonde gave an aggravated shout before tossing one of her pillows at Shinoa, which she managed to dodge, although Yoichi wasn't so fortunate.

"How old are you guys again?" Kimizuki asked in annoyance as chaos unfurled within the room.

* * *

It was a little bit before dusk when Yuu decided he'd start walking back home.

Kimizuki had left earlier when Mirai's volunteer work had been over and Yoichi opted to go along with him so he could spend the night at the pink haired male's house.

Yuu had been with Shinoa and Mitsuba with a majority of their time spent on their phones on social media as well as playing brief games against one another.

He told the two of them bye before he headed out.

With his headphones in and his music blasting as he walked down the street, he was suddenly reminded of Mika.

He wondered if he had a dorm on campus.

That was a question he never brought up. And it was a good question too. If he lived on campus, hanging out with him would be even easier. Hopefully his roommates weren't jerks or something…

Yuu brought out his phone when he was reminded that the blonde had promised to text him later, but since their time at the café earlier, he hadn't received any messages from him.

He supposed there was nothing wrong with taking the initiative himself.

 _From: Yuu_

 _Hey do you live on campus?_

The chat bubble at the lower left hand corner that signaled the other person was typing appeared instantly as did Mika's reply.

 _From: Mika_

 _No, I don't… Why?_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Sameee it's super expensive and I live within a reasonable distance too lol I was just curious no real reason for asking idk_

 _From: Mika_

 _Yeah the price for room and board is kind of ridiculous but I also don't mind commuting either_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Do you live far from campus?_

 _From: Mika_

 _I mean, maybe? Depends on your definition of far but it takes me like an hour to drive there depending on the traffic_

 _From: Yuu_

 _AN HOUR!? MIKA WTF THATS FAR_

 _From: Mika_

 _Lol after a while it doesn't really feel that long trust me_

Yuu couldn't really think of anything to reply to that with, so he just left it as it was and returned to his music.

As he neared his house from down the street, his eyes went up to his balcony.

It didn't take much imagination to envision Archangel just sitting on the ledge, his legs dangling up several feet up in the air while his masked face was turned up to the sky.

Hopefully he would come back for his clothes tonight. If he was fast enough, Yuu could probably be able to catch him while he was there.

That was an exciting thought that he managed to entertain himself with as he unlocked the front door and stepped in.

He could hear the TV on in the living room and after taking off his shoes, Yuu walked ahead to gaze at the couch curiously.

To be honest, he wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing that he wasn't the least bit surprised to see Shinya and Mahiru sitting there watching some gore movie.

Well, he supposed seeing Mahiru was a surprise considering she rarely came over nowadays, but still. Half the time he forgot that it was only he and Guren that actually lived here.

The two were comfortably situated on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn in between them.

Their eyes didn't leave the screen even as Yuu propped himself near the side of their perch.

"Hey, guys. Is Guren here?" Yuu inquired, his green eyes looking on at the screen as the character was brutally hit with a mallet to the head.

So with Guren it was romantic comedy night and with Mahiru it was horror night.

"Night, Yuuichirou!" Mahiru chimed, her amber irises remained glued to the flat screen.

To her other side, Shinya looked over at his phone to check for the time. "Isn't it still evening?"

Mahiru sighed. "The Sun is down. It's night, Shinya."

"I was just asking." He pouted slightly before tossing a bit of popcorn at her, even managing to get a couple pieces in her hair.

Shinya then glanced at Yuu with a smile and in the background, the horrific screams of one of the characters from the movie filled his ears. "Guren is still at work! He'll be there until later tonight!"

The teen nodded his head in understanding and Mahiru kept her eyes trained on the movie as she ran a hand through her ashen locks to remove the popcorn. "We got some sushi if you want some. And if you want anything else to eat just say so, I'll be happy to get it for you."

Yuu nodded his head slowly. "Sushi's good… Thanks." As he went to the kitchen to gather up his food to hoard in his room, he could still hear the movie alongside Shinya and Mahiru's occasional commentary.

"Did he just strangle her with her boyfriend's entrails?"

"Yes, oh my God, ssshh." She shushed her companion with a smothering hand to his face that he tried to avoid to no avail.

Yuu prepared to head to the stairs, but as he began to walk by the living room, Mahiru called out to him.

Shinya gave a whine of protest at the fact she paused the movie, but the long haired female ignored his complaints.

"Yuuichirou, wait! I heard about how you met up with a long, lost childhood lover today! How was your date?" Mahiru genuinely inquired with an innocent smile to her face.

Yuu nearly choked on air.

He snapped his attention back to her with his eyes bright with annoyance, suspicion, and a tiny bit of embarrassment "Did Shinoa tell you this!?"

Mahiru blinked. "No, of course not. Guren did."

"Guren needs to learn to keep his mouth shut. Is his life that boring that he has to go telling everyone my business?" The teen's eyes narrowed while he clutched his plate of food a bit tighter. "And it wasn't a date."

"So you admit he's a childhood lover?"

"Ah! But he's still a lover!"

The two sitting on the couch remarked in unison. They both wore matching sets of smiles were on their faces and Yuu had to glare at them in irritation.

"I'm not going to have this conversation, good night. Enjoy your movie." He quickly stated as he got ready to bolt away.

Mahiru giggled and Shinya snickered and as he nearly made it to the stairs, he heard Shinya call out to him.

"Your birthday is only like two days away, isn't it, Yuuichirou?"

Yuu paused.

His mind began going over the current date quickly before he realized that Shinya was right.

Damn, he hadn't even been paying much attention to that.

He began taking his steps back toward the living room, "Yeah, it is."

Mahiru now got up, stating lowly she was heading to the bathroom. Shinya grabbed a bit of popcorn before placing the pieces in his mouth leisurely. "Guren said you didn't want to have a party. Are you going to hang with your friends or something?"

Yuu shrugged, one of his hands picking up a tekkamaki roll from his plate. "I feel like we went all out for my 18th birthday. Having something big now would be childish, wouldn't it?"

"You're really growing up, aren't you? The next step is getting a job and moving out of the nest… Try to slow it down though. God knows Guren will be devastated when you finally leave."

Yuu scoffed. "I'm working on it, alright? But Tokyo isn't exactly cheap to live in, especially on your own..."

The older man laughed and waved off at him. "I know, I know. But I was only kidding."

A pout came to Yuu's lips and he gave the seated man a blank stare. "You kid around about the dumbest things, I swear."

"Eh? How is that topic dumb?"

"Forget it, I'm out of here." Yuu quickly replied before returning his sights to his room.

After trekking up the stairs and walking down the short hall, Yuu made it to his bedroom and shut the door behind himself.

He placed his plate of sushi on his computer desk, which was also where he had left his wallet earlier, and he took out his phone with his birthday in mind.

 _From: Yuu_

 _Mikaaa whens your birthday?_

Thankfully, Mika's reply was instant.

 _From: Mika_

… _You're so random lol it's May 1st_

 _From: Mika_

 _When's yours?_

 _From: Yuu_

 _October 16th lmao which is why I asked for yours. Not so random now huh?_

 _From: Mika_

 _Oh my God, that's less than two days away, Yuu-chan! Why didn't you tell me earlier? And how old are you going to be?_

 _From: Yuu_

 _19 heh how old are you gunna be in may?_

 _From: Mika_

 _Aww, you're younger than me :) I'm 19 now, so 20 in May_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Old fart_

 _From: Yuu_

 _But listen, I have no party plans so if youre free we can hang out during the day on Tuesday together_

Mika didn't reply back immediately like he had been hoping he would and Yuu clicked his tongue.

He didn't come off as creepy did, did he?

Both he and Mika agreed that they wanted to be closer after all and bonding like this would help. Treating him like a friend was only natural.

Now he was beginning to worry that Mika would reject his advances.

God, it had barely been a minute since he replied and Yuu was already starting to freak out.

What was wrong with him, honestly?

 _From: Mika_

 _It would be an honor haha but I'll have to check with my guardian to make sure it's okay first_

The reply brought instant relief to his stomach. Along with that he had to smile at the fact he and Mika were still on the same page with reconnecting.

But his use of the word 'guardian' took a hit at Yuu's interest a bit.

 _From: Yuu_

 _Your "guardian"?_

This time Mika didn't reply.

After about two minutes, Yuu redirected his attention to his friends' group chat which was a mess as per usual as well as texting his lab partner about an upcoming assignment.

He made his way over to Archangel's clothes that were now dry after having been hung up for so many hours.

Yuu pulled them down from the hangers and tried his best to fold them neatly, though each of his attempts turned out just as messy as the last.

After about the 10th try he gave up and settled on the sloppy bundle of a cloak with the nicer appearing, folded black button up and white jacket.

He went into his closet and brought out Archangel's thigh high boots before settling it near his balcony door.

He just needed a note to reply with now…

Yuu settled at his computer desk and brought out one of his class notebooks before attempting to write a response to Archangel's original note.

The first one sounded strange. The second sounded cheesy. The third just made him cringe every time he read it over. The fourth was just something he wished he never had to look at again.

Nothing sounded good enough.

He kept scratching out each of his attempts, not wanting to come off as annoying or weird.

Finally, he came out with one that he was satisfied with.

' _No problem, you saved my life way more than I did yours. So thank you for that and also thank you for all the stuff you do for Tokyo (that sounds super cliché and corny, but we're seriously lucky to have you.) I tried washing your clothes as a token of gratitude, but yeah, who would have thought blood stains would be so hard to get rid of?_

 _Also… Your thigh highs made my dad suspect I was into some scandalous shit when he saw them. Who designed those things for you?_

– _Sincerely, Yuu_

 _P.S. My birthday is in like two days. If you want to get me a gift, I like fast expensive cars and designer clothes :P'_

As Yuu reviewed it over and over for any mistakes somewhere, he realized he was actually quite proud of it.

The tone was both appreciative and also a little playful. If Archangel had any sense of humor, he'd be at least a tiny bit amused by it.

Yuu didn't really expect any gifts or anything, but if he was lucky, Archangel would drop off a birthday card for him or something.

Not that he'd complain.

A birthday card from him would be just as good as an expensive car… Well… Maybe not _as_ good, but he'd still love to get one regardless.

Considering the fact he was without any ribbons or bows to wrap up the note against the clothes, Yuu opted to just fold it up and tuck it into the hood of the cloak.

Hopefully it wouldn't fall out without him noticing when he unraveled the clothing.

With that done, he placed everything out on his balcony before closing the curtains for the night.


	4. Celebration

As much as Yuu had hopes that his Monday morning was going to be a good one due to a possible visit from Archangel overnight, those hopes were unfortunately for naught.

After he woke up, the very first thing he had done was walk over to his balcony curtains and pull them aside to get a view of the area outside.

Disappointingly, everything was still there as he left them last night. It all appeared entirely untouched.

He tried not to let it bother him too much when he started getting ready for the day.

The scowl Yuu wore while he brushed his teeth didn't waver as he tried to reason with himself that Archangel's letter said he'd be back within a week. There was no specific date, so he just had to be patient and wait.

Though honestly, he really hoped Archangel wasn't waiting until next Sunday to come around. That was way too long.

When he finished getting dressed, he grabbed his book bag from the side of his bed to sling over his shoulder along with his phone and wallet from his computer desk before making his way downstairs.

With his descent down the stairs he came to realize how quiet the house was aside from the distant hum of the running air conditioner.

Weekday mornings were typically like this though.

More than likely Guren was already at work, if not he was probably sleeping in late.

His job was a weird one. Yuu wasn't even exactly sure how to describe it.

Guren worked at the company that Shinoa and Mahiru's family owned, but the specifics of what that company even did always flew right over Yuu's head. He never cared much for whatever it was that they did anyways.

He was pretty sure it was weaponry or something.

Man, now that he was thinking about it and couldn't remember anything, it was going to bother him for a while.

Considering how Shinoa never liked talking about anyone in her family aside from Mahiru, Yuu supposed he'd just drop the question at dinner with Guren later on.

Yuu brought his headphones to his ears as he made his way onto the sidewalk, his routine journey from his house to his first class was filled with just his thoughts and the music from his phone.

His lectures were all unbelievably long and he caught himself nodding off every five minutes in his statistics class. That exhaustion turned into something way more evident when he made it to his chemistry lecture and Yoichi had to occasionally poke him with his pen to wake him up when his eyes closed for any longer than two minutes.

Yuu blamed it on his post-weekend fatigue.

"I don't have work today, so we can study together in the library!" Yoichi happily informed him when the professor finally dismissed them.

Yuu rubbed his eyes tiredly as they stood up from their seats and began filing out alongside the other flood of students. "That's great. You can teach today's lesson to me because I didn't learn shit today." Yuu yawned with a hand to his mouth.

Yoichi gave him an exasperated look with a frown to his lips. "That's because you slept through half of it!"

Both teens made their way out into the building hall, still surrounded by their classmates and other peers from different lectures that were just dismissed.

With all these students walking through the hallway like sheep, it was then that Yuu was reminded of Mika going to the same university as him.

"Half? More like all…" He trailed off as he went into his pocket for his phone.

The school was so big, it was no surprise they never saw each other.

If they were lucky, their class schedules may have a gap somewhere so they could mutually meet up somewhere and hang out for a bit.

When he unlocked his phone, Yuu found his eyes widening in surprise at the fact Mika had already messaged him about an hour ago.

Two messages.

How the hell didn't he feel the vibrations?

Right as soon as that question came to mind he was reminded of how his brain had been shut off the second he stepped into his chemistry class.

After twenty minutes in there he didn't even feel Yoichi's pen pokes anymore. Of course he didn't feel his phone vibrating through his jeans.

 _From: Mika_

 _Morning, Yuu-chan! Just wanted to say I'll be able to spend the day with you tomorrow :)_

 _From: Mika_

 _Also… I finished my last class just now. Are you still on campus? If you are, do you feel like dealing with me some more today?_

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Yoichi worriedly inquired with a look over at him as the two made their way out the building.

The glare from the Sun caused Yuu to quickly raise the brightness on his phone screen.

"Yeah, but I could have gotten an extra hour in… Or two… Or five… Or 24." He shrugged dismissively while he began typing up his reply to Mika and Yoichi gave a light laugh of amusement.

 _From: Yuu_

 _Niiice! I was thinking we could go to the movies or something if youre cool with that? And I'm heading to the library now damn sorry for my late reply I was asleep in class lol are you still here?_

 _From: Yuu_

 _You paid for my hot chocolate and cake yesterday… Mika I am fully prepared to deal with you for the rest of my life tbh_

The walk from the science hall to the library was short and by the time Yoichi and Yuu made it to their usual spot on the second floor, Mitsuba and Shinoa were both already there.

Yuu took a seat opposite from the two females and Yoichi sat to his right.

They all exchanged their greetings despite the fact neither of the two girls looked up from the textbook their eyes were trained on. Judging from their postures and expressions, Yuu was able to conclude Shinoa was trying to teach something to Mitsuba from their readings.

"Ohh, what are you guys reviewing?" Yoichi curiously questioned while Yuu placed his bag on the table in preparation to pull out his chemistry notebook.

Shinoa pushed some of her loose hanging hair behind her ears and gave them a smile. "Calculus. Mitsu is having trouble with this one concept." The petite female returned her eyes to the problem her index finger was situated at. "Next you're supposed to divide these two."

Indignantly, Mitsuba flushed while she gripped her pen a bit tighter. "Not exactly _trouble_..." She lowly muttered with her eyes giving a tired look. "It's just a little tricky. I need a bit of clarification."

"Yes, yes. Anyone would have difficulty with this. It's not easy at all." Shinoa dismissively voiced all the while looking as if it was taking all her willpower to not openly roll her eyes.

"You say that and yet you're a genius at this stuff." Yuu remarked airily and Yoichi began moving his chair closer to Yuu after having taken out his own chemistry notebook and textbook.

Shinoa smiled with a flip to her hair. "Ah yes, the applause, applause, applause. I live for it. Praise me more." She leaned closer to Mitsuba dramatically. "My ego is so thirsty now. Yuu-san has awakened the dragon within me. Validate me, Micchannnnn!"

"Get off of me! Jesus, Shinoa!"

"I need you to compliment my intelligence! Quickly, time is running out!"

"What are you talking about!?"

The brunet to Yuu's right side ignored the squirming pair on the other side of the table. He opened the textbook with a pleasant smile and Yuu had to take a minute to be grateful Yoichi was the one that took similar classes with him rather than Shinoa.

"Yuu, do you seriously need me to reteach you everything from today's lesson? Or are there only certain concepts you don't understand?" Yoichi curiously asked him while he turned to the proper chapter in the book.

Yuu blinked before bowing slightly in his friend's direction. "I was physically in my seat, but I was mentally in the fifth realm. Please teach me everything."

Yoichi sighed, though the good natured demeanor about himself didn't fade. "Alright… Ah… Let's see, we basically learned this stuff… Copy my notes and I'll explain whatever you don't understand!" He instructed with a nod and Yuu prepared to do so, but paused when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

He quickly went to pull it out, his pace increasing when he saw Mika replied to him.

 _From: Mika_

 _It's your birthday not mine! I'll do whatever you want. And that's interesting… Is buying you sugary stuff the quickest way into your heart? I feel like I just uncovered a cheat code._

 _From: Mika_

 _And the library? Ah man… I'm way on the other end of campus by the south lake_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Archangel would cross 5 districts to save me from a Horseman and you're letting a walk across campus stop you from seeing me? Weakkkkk_

The speech bubble that indicated Mika was typing appeared, however after a couple seconds Yuu decided to return his attention back to copying Yoichi's notes.

As he was midway into the first definition, he felt his phone vibrate on the table.

 _From: Mika_

 _Archangel's got nothing on me. I'm on my way._

Yuu had to hold himself back from laughing at the reply.

Mika was so cute.

His smile didn't go unnoticed as Shinoa cleared her throat pointedly.

Yuu glanced up and over at her curiously and she gave him an innocent smile in return. "Yuu-san, you're smiling at your phone so hard. Make sure to watch yourself or else some people that see you will get the wrong idea."

"Shinoa, the only person that would get the wrong idea is you." Mitsuba muttered with a gaze up from her notes while she shot her companion a half lidded stare.

Yuu scoffed with an irritated look Shinoa's way. "I'm texting Mika. If you guys knew how cute he gets when you tease him you'd understand better."

In response to this, Yoichi gave a short laugh. "Ironically enough, I think that's a big reason why Shinoa teases you and Mitsuba so much."

His words made Yuu and Mitsuba widen their eyes, the two clearly caught off guard.

Shinoa blinked her amber eyes owlishly. "Oh, dear. Yoichi, it appears that you have exposed me." Her tone was entirely nonchalant that Yuu and Mitsuba were able to catch themselves with grunts while Yoichi gave a short laugh into his hand.

Mitsuba groaned with a roll to her eyes, her cheeks flushed red. "You're so impossible."

"I'm not cute!" Yuu denied hotly with furrowed brows pointed her way.

Shinoa stared back at him blankly. "Well, I won't argue with that. Micchan is the cute one. You just make teasing way too easy. It'd be a crime to _not_ bully you."

"Why are we friends again?"

"Because… I'm so super adorable with a keen fashion sense? Why else?" The purple haired teen rhetorically shot back with a shrug to her shoulders as though it were obvious.

As Yuu grumbled out his retort partially beneath his breath, Yoichi intervened with a wave to his hand.

"Ah, before I forget to ask. You don't happen to have any plans for your birthday tomorrow, do you?"

Yuu blinked his eyes and at the same time, Shinoa clasped her hands together with a small noise of realization.

From the periphery of his vision while his gaze rested on Yoichi he was able to see her bring her bag from around her chair onto the table before she rummaged through it.

"I didn't really have anything planned, but—" He prepared to explain his situation with Mika, however he didn't get a chance to as Shinoa cleared her throat while pushing a lamented card towards him.

"You had nothing planned, but as your lovely, wonderful, irreplaceable friends, we took the liberty of throwing you a tiny party ourselves!" She sang out with a proud little bounce in her seat.

Yuu's eyes widened as he began to pull the card toward himself to read and Shinoa continued. "Originally we were going to surprise you, but after some mild discussion we decided giving you one day of warning was funnier. I mean, even if you try to call it off, you still won't have any choice but to go."

His eyebrows furrowed and he looked between the three of them with a slight whine. "Wait a second! I already agreed to spend my birthday with Mika! I don't know how this is going to work out!"

Across from him, Mitsuba gazed up from her math notes while she arched a blonde brow. "Oh yeah, I forgot to ask. Who is Mika anyways?"

"A childhood friend of Yuu's." Yoichi explained with such a warm smile that Yuu couldn't help but match the expression.

He nodded his head as he regarded Mitsuba pleasantly. "He and I used to live at the same orphanage. He's really great. We met up for the first time in years this weekend!"

"First time in years? Oh, wow… That's really nice." The ponytailed teen remarked in slight awe.

Shinoa stared at Yuu plainly from across the table. "Yuu-san, you can't possibly be this dense. Just invite Mikaela-san to the party." Her words were blunt, but Yuu still felt some hesitance.

He scratched his cheek. "Ah… Would that be alright with you guys though?"

Immediately after he asked, he had no idea why he even had a doubt in the first place.

The three of them all sent him bright, reassuring smiles.

Yoichi nodded his head reassuringly, "If Mikaela is a friend of yours he's automatically a friend of ours!"

"That was such a stupid question, Yuu. Of course it'd be alright with us!" Mitsuba added in and despite her curt tone, her eyes were lowered with a mild embarrassed expression to her face.

"Geez, do you think so badly of us?" Shinoa inquired with a hand resting to her cheek, "We aren't some ferocious wolves that'll eat him apart when he comes near the pack… Well, we may bite a little, but that's the price you pay when you join our dysfunctional family."

Yuu grinned at them widely. "You guys are the best! I'm really happy you feel this way because you can all officially meet him soon! He goes to this university and I already texted him to show up at the library!" He informed them with unmasked joy in his tone.

"Ah, this is exciting." Yoichi gave a small laugh. "He normally looks so scary and intimidating when he's ordering at the shop, but he looked really sweet and approachable when you were with him. I can't wait to see what he's really like."

Yuu gave him an incredulous expression. "He normally looks so what? The boy looks like an overgrown kitten. What are you talking about?" He mumbled the last bit in confusion as he now raised the invitation up for closer inspection.

He could still hear his friends speaking while he read.

"Scary and intimidating? Like Kimizuki-scary or…?"

"Pretty much! Except, I feel like Kimizuki's glares say 'You're an idiot' while Mikaela's says something more along the lines of 'I'd kill you right now if it wasn't illegal.'"

"W-What!? Don't make me rethink accepting this guy to the party!"

"Ah, Yuu-san associates with the most interesting people."

"Don't worry! He probably just has a mean neutral facial expression! He looked really nice and friendly during his date with Yuu!"

"Isn't there a movie like that? True love melts the cold heart or whatever?"

"Shinoa, are you talking about Frozen?"

"Whoa, hold up!" Yuu now exclaimed as he glared over at them. He pointed at the invitation in his hand. "The address is my house!?"

There was no way Guren was going to let them have some random party there on a day's notice.

Shinoa nodded with a proud smile to her lips, "I already checked with Guren and he said it was fine."

"Wow. That sneaky bastard… He _knew_ I didn't want a party and he just…"

Yoichi waved off at him. "Don't worry, Yuu! It won't be a big party or anything! It'll just be the five, well six if Mikaela decides to come, of us with some alcohol and a movie or two! Calling it a party is already a stretch! Just consider it a little get together?"

At this, Mitsuba grumbled a bit. "It's all on a Tuesday. I'll have class early the next morning so I'm not sure about how late you're all planning for this to be." Her violet eyes fleeted out the window abruptly and as an afterthought she muttered, "I'm still showing up for the alcohol though…"

Yuu didn't a chance to reply to that as he felt his phone vibrate once more, bringing his attention back to his messages.

 _From: Mika_

 _After a long and dangerous journey I have arrived at the library. May I beseech thee for the level of the tower Princess Yuu-chan is currently residing at?_

Yuu snorted, a smile making its way to his face while he began typing a response.

 _From: Yuu_

 _*prince_

 _From: Mika_

 _I considered making it Prince Yuu-chan for a good two minutes, but Princess just seemed to fit more… Or is it just me? Lol but seriously, I'm awkwardly standing between some book shelves texting you. Where are you?_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Trust me its just you lmao and only because I feel like it took you a lot of courage to press send on that original text I'll answer you smh I'm on the second floor near the area with the weird art on the walls_

 _From: Mika_

 _Do you mean the abstract art mural corner?_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Yeah that thing_

He placed his phone down and turned his attention back to his friends that were going over a possible movie for them to watch.

Yuu leaned forward with a grin. "Okay, I honestly don't care about what we watch, but if you guys want, we could just make everything a sleepover on Friday or Saturday! That way we don't have to worry about class the next day."

Mitsuba gave him an indignant expression. "A _sleepover_? You're turning 19, not 9."

Yuu glared back at her in irritation, "Listen. Just because you already turned 19 months ago and what little of your youth and fun was drained away, doesn't mean shit!"

"Just because you look like you haven't graduated junior high doesn't give you an excuse to act like it!"

"That's hilarious coming from you when you still get the kids menu at restaurants sometimes!"

"Grr… You either pulled that out of your ass or you're confusing me with Shinoa! Either way, you're still an idiot!"

"How am I an idiot!? Those pigtails are what you see on elementary kids!"

"Yeah, but those boobs aren't." Shinoa intervened with an innocent smile and Mitsuba's face instantly lit up.

Yuu blinked his eyes. "Well… Yeah, I guess that's true." He lowly admitted before backing down, accepting defeat.

"D-Don't say something like that so casually!" The blonde barked out as she took hold of Shinoa's arm and began shaking her furiously.

Shinoa kept her expression unchanging. "It's the truth though. The boings are what keeps everyone from thinking you're younger than you are. I'm jealous…"

The brunet to Yuu's side cleared his throat with an uncomfortable laugh. "Back on topic, ah, having some cake and pizza is all we're going to have to just mark Yuu's further entrance into the adult world!"

Yuu sighed heavily. "19 isn't even worthy of this big fuss though."

He partially expected them to respond with something pertaining to either how it didn't matter or 19 was the last year you were technically a teenager, or anything like that.

But no one spoke up.

They all sat rigid. Tense looks riddled their faces and they appeared as though they were on the verge of sweating.

"What's up with you guys?" Yuu questioned in confusion as he looked between their faces for some sort of answer.

"I just felt a sudden dark presence…" Mitsuba murmured lowly with her violet eyes trained down at her notebook.

Yuu blinked his eyes, puzzled. "Huh?"

He glanced over at Yoichi, who was stilled with a nervous look to his face. Next, his green eyes landed on Shinoa, who was now glancing up from the textbook in front of her towards the bookshelves that were a bit farther away from them.

Her eyebrows knitted together anxiously. "Uh… Is that Mikaela-san?" She hesitantly asked.

Yuu immediately followed her gaze over to the bookshelves where sure enough, Mika happened to be staring over at them intensely.

Yuu grinned the moment he saw him. He stood up, one of his hands slamming on the table while the other waved over at the blond excitedly. "What are you doing standing over there all shy? Get over here!" He laughed out.

" _Shy!?_ " He heard Mitsuba lowly voice in disbelief, however his mind was focused on Mika as the blond's expression visibly softened when his blue eyes met with Yuu's.

His steps appeared reluctant, but he approached their table nonetheless. As he neared closer, Yoichi let out a small noise that sounded way too close to that of a frightened woodland animal.

Yuu moved from his seat in order to go around and behind the taller male. His hands planted onto Mika's shoulders gently before he looked over at his friends with a smile. "Alright, guys, this is Mika! Mika, these guys are Shinoa, Yoichi, and Mitsuba!" Yuu introduced while pointing at each of them.

The anxious expressions his friends wore seemed to let up a little bit with the introductions, but not by much. Mika's intense stare didn't waver either.

The four of them were silent for a few passing moments and Yuu had to blink his eyes in confusion at how odd the atmosphere seemed to be turning out.

However, he didn't get to remark on it because Shinoa was, predictably, the first to speak up.

"Aha… Nice to meet you, Mikaela-san. Yoichi and I were the ones with Yuu-san at the café when you two first met up on Saturday—"

"I remember." Mika shortly stated.

Shinoa stared back at him. "I see…"

They engaged maintained eye contact even after that, both sporting poker faces and unwilling to look away from the other.

Silence flooded over them once more and Yuu tilted his head to the side. "What's up with all of you?" His hands remained on Mika's shoulders firmly and he leaned forward to view the side of the male's face inquisitively.

Mika frowned. His blue eyes glanced over at Yuu as he quietly said. "You didn't tell me you weren't here alone…"

The statement made Yuu raise a brow. "Should I have?"

"I… I don't want to intrude…" Mika lowly replied, his frown still intact. He moved his body from Yuu's grasp and appeared ready to turn and leave, but Yuu quickly placed his hands back, making his grip a little tighter.

"No! No! You aren't intruding at all! Come on and sit with us!" The dark haired teen insisted before he began pushing the blonde toward the table.

Mika shyly protested, "Y-Yuu-chan, I- I don't think— Ah!" He voiced in surprise as Yuu managed to get him to sit down in the seat to his left.

Shinoa, Mitsuba, and Yoichi all remained quiet. Their eyes watching at Mika with uncertainty until the blonde looked away from Yuu, his softened expression hardening up coldly instantly as he watched back at them.

"So about those math equations, Micchan!" Shinoa loudly stated with emphasis as she returned her attention back to their Calculus work.

Obliviously, Yuu maintained his positive demeanor as he slid over the invitation Shinoa had given him earlier toward Mika, "Okay, so I know I said we'd hang out tomorrow, but they're going to be throwing a cute, mini-party thing for me! Since that's kind of canceled, you should come to this instead!"

Mika's eyes evaluated the lamented card for a moment before he placed it back on the table, "I won't go." He stated simply.

A crushing feeling of rejection instantly filled Yuu's body.

He hadn't expected that sort of answer.

He couldn't help the frown that came to his lips while he watched at Mika beckoningly, "You won't go… Or you can't go?" Yuu asked, because obviously there was a big difference between the two and he really hoped it was later.

"Both. I can't go, so I won't."

His words were said so curtly that Yuu found his eyebrows furrowing.

"What's up with your attitude?" He inquired with his green eyes intently eyeing the male beside him.

Mika returned the stare, "I don't have an attitude."

"Yeah, you do." Yuu snapped, "I don't understand why you can't go to this. You were fine with spending the day with me. What makes this any different, Mika?"

He couldn't help his short temper from making him grow annoyed. He almost forgot that they weren't alone and that Yoichi, Mitsuba, and Shinoa were all still at the table, hearing their whole exchange.

Mika's stoic gaze didn't relent for a moment as he stared back at Yuu steadily. However, after a few seconds, he visibly paused with his composure faltering for a brief second while he released a light breath, "The key term is 'day,' Yuu-chan... I have plans for that night." He gently informed him before he stood up from his seat.

Yuu looked up at him in irritation as Mika was unable to meet his gaze, "Thanks for the invitation anyways… Bye." The blonde voiced before pushing in his chair and walking off.

The whole time Yuu's green eyes watched him go until he disappeared entirely from view.

He pursed his lips, "Damn, what the hell was his problem?"

At the same time, Shinoa released a heavy sigh and Mitsuba tapped her pencil against the table with a look in the direction the male had left in, "Well, he seemed 'nice.'"

"Ah… He was probably in a bad mood…" Yoichi apprehensively threw in to the absent blonde's defense.

Yuu clicked his tongue with a slight groan while he leaned back in his seat. "His texts didn't seem like he was at all though." As an afterthought he added in, "if he was in a pissy mood he shouldn't have insisted on coming here. All he did was upset himself more…"

As he rethought over their conversation, he frowned a bit. "Ah, fuck… I was a total ass to him, wasn't I?" He was the one that pretty much forced him to sit down when he didn't exactly want to.

Damn, he needed to apologize—

"That aside, guys, the university is doing blood donations and you get free food and movie tickets." Shinoa informed everyone with her amber eyes locked onto her phone.

"Can you put your phone down and help me with these problems already?"

"So pushy, Mitsu…"

"Oh, that's right! Yuu, do you still want help with chemistry?"

Yuu glanced over at Yoichi as the brunet smiled at him. "I'm here for whatever questions you may have!"

The dark haired teen nodded his head slowly, "Yeah… Right…"

Their remaining time in the library was spent like that amongst each other studying and talking idly about random topics that floated by.

Eventually, Mitsuba left for dance practice while Shinoa had to leave for another class, leaving Yuu and Yoichi as the only two behind. It hadn't even been two minutes since Shinoa got up and left that Yuu and Yoichi's phones lit up on the table with a notification from Shinoa in the group chat.

 _Shinoa: Omg, Kimizuki, you missed out on a rather interesting near-death experience today_

Yuu's eyes instantly narrowed.

What lie was she going to tell today?

 _Kimizuki: Do I even want to know?_

 _Shinoa: We met Mikaela-san and he killed us all with his eyes. Jesus, he had big hands. I'm sure he could have strangled Micchan, Yoichi, and I in one grasp. We're lucky we're all still breathing tbh_

 _Kimizuki: Oh God. What happened now?_

 _Shinoa: He showed up at the library and Yuu-san introduced us to him, but he obviously wanted us all dead. I assume he had plans to give Yuu-san the succ but alas we all cockblocked by accident…_

 _Yuu: What the hell are you talking about?_

 _Mitsuba: WRONG CHAT, SHINOA YOU IDIOT_

 _Shinoa: …. Forget I said anything, wrong number. Who is this? Where am I? How did I get in this chat?_

 _Yuu: THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN WRONG CHAT? YOU FAKE ASSES HAVE A SEPARATE CHAT WITHOUT ME!?_

Yuu turned to look at Yoichi with narrowed eyes when no one quickly replied to his question. "Do you guys seriously have a separate chat without me or are they just dicking around?"

Yoichi waved off at him. "I'm sure they're joking! I mean, I'm not in any separate group chats that you're not in at least?"

Taking his answer for the truth, Yuu returned his stare to his phone as he typed.

 _Yuu: SHINOA MITSUBA DON'T IGNORE ME YOU ASSHOLES_

 _Shinoa Hiiragi has left the conversation._

 _Mitsuba Sanguu has left the conversation._

 _Yuu: WOW_

 _Yoichi: Omfg_

 _Kimizuki: So… He was going to blow you, but got pissed that Shinoa, Mitsuba, and Yoichi were there and redirected his anger to them? Interesting how fast that relationship progressed when just yesterday you were second hand kissing._

 _Yuu: Go fuck yourself_

* * *

After a while Yuu and Yoichi parted ways from the library in favor of going home.

It was still fairly early and Yoichi had practically walked him to his house prior to making his way to the bus stop.

When he entered through the front door, he was reminded of Guren calling him earlier when he was at the library to inform him he'd be putting in some extra hours at work and he'd be back really late.

That essentially meant no dinner unless Yuu ordered something himself.

The first thing he did when he made it up to his bedroom was check up on his balcony. He was holding onto the slight chance that Archangel showed up at some point during the day…

Unfortunately, when he pulled back at the dark curtains to scout the balcony area, he came to realize that the hero's clothes were still there as they had been this morning.

Maybe he'd be back tonight…

Yuu hoped so.

It was then that he briefly decided his plan for the night.

Shower, find something in the fridge to eat, then just chill on the Internet considering he got all his immediate homework done at the library earlier with Yoichi.

After collecting his towel and heading into the bathroom, Yuu pulled his polo shirt over his head.

He was given sight of his chest that was still in the process of healing up, but compared to what it used to be, it really did get _much_ better.

Only certain spots hurt to poke and probe now and breathing was definitely the same as it used to be now.

Damn, he was really fragile.

Compared to Archangel whose cuts healed in less than hour, he was taking weeks to get back to normal.

Yuu would be lying if he said he wasn't even a little bit jealous. Whatever radioactive spider bit the blond needed to do the same for him.

As he showered, he found himself filled with further wonder on the extent to what Archangel was capable of.

Enhanced healing was obviously one thing. Super strength and super speed were obvious ones too. There was also the fact he was adamant about using that sword of his in a majority of his battles.

There were still the accounts about him apparently having white angel wings too.

He'd seen a fair share of art and edits of those online, but he was sure seeing them in person would be way better.

When he finished showering and changing into his PJs for the evening, Yuu took himself downstairs to make four cups of instant noodles. He struggled to carry the handful of scorching hot cups back up to his room along with two cans of soda, but he accomplished it in the end.

He sat at his computer desk and opened his laptop before occupying himself online for the remainder of the night.

Yuu was sure to keep his headphones off, too anxious to possibly miss Archangel knocking on his balcony again.

After all, if he wanted a chance to actually talk to him the moment he heard him on the other side of the balcony Yuu would have to spring up and run over before he disappeared off into the night.

In between his time just goofing off online and eventually entering a group Skype chat with his friends toward the later time of night, he found himself growing sleepy.

As much as he wanted to stay awake longer in case Archangel came by, he wasn't even sure when he hit the 'fuck it' point and collapsed on his bed.

The next morning when he woke up he wasn't sure if he should have been jumping with joy or crying at the fact Archangel's stuff was _still_ on the balcony, entirely unbothered.

"Does he want me to keep his stupid boots or what?" Yuu found himself grumbling out with his face nearly pressed against the glass door that led to his balcony.

He tried not to be too effected by it.

Archangel's letter said he would be back within the week.

It was only Tuesday.

But he was impatient, damn it. He wanted him to come back already.

As Yuu started getting ready for the day, he also took the time to go through the mass amounts of birthday texts he'd received so far.

 _From: Shinoa_

 _Happy birthday, Yuu-san! You've been on this planet for 19 years and a precious friend of mine for around 7 of those years. You didn't hear it from me but ily never change. Hope in the coming years when you're turning 29 I'll already be the Godmother to at least one of your cherub children!_

She just had to ruin it with that last comment.

 _From: Yoichi_

 _HAPPY BIRTHDAY YUU! I hope you enjoy your day even though you have class lol! I may or may not have some balloons and a special cake made by Tomoe waiting for you :D_

 _From: Kimizuki_

 _Oi, happy birthday. Surprisingly, you made it to 19 without having managed to flush yourself down a toilet. Let's pray you can keep that up for several more years in the future. Mirai made you a gift by the way. I'll bring it over later on._

 _From: Mitsuba_

 _Happy birthday Yuu! As much as I complain and bicker with you, you're an amazing friend and I'm happy we're as close as we are (don't screenshot this!) I hope we continue to stay friends for the years ahead of us too. But yeah, welcome to Club 19 lol_

 _From: Guren_

 _19? Already? Damn, you're old as hell. What happened to that cute little brat that had to use a step stool to get cereal from the top of the pantry? I probably won't be home tonight, but I'm hoping you have fun with your friends' little party. Also, check on the coffee table in the living room. I think a birthday fairy left you a couple gifts._

There were more from others, but he settled on reading and replying to the rest when he was walking to class.

One thing that struck him was that he didn't see Mika's name among any of the notifications.

Was it possible he was still upset? Or maybe he just forgot it was his birthday…

Yuu hoped it was neither, but if he had to pick, hopefully it just escaped his mind. Even he was bad with birthdays at times.

The day went by fairly quickly.

Just as Yoichi had promised in his text, he'd given his friend a few balloons and a whole homemade cake when they met up at chemistry.

It felt like he was in high school again, but given the fact it was a _Saotome_ cake he couldn't have been happier.

Kimizuki offered to drive them all over to Yuu's house after having given him a gift that clearly said _From: Shihou and Mirai_ in handwriting that Yuu was immediately able to identify as the taller male's.

Having everyone over at his house was fun especially given the occasion.

Yuu would be lying if he said he hadn't felt the overwhelming love from the small celebration. But at the same time, he kept being reminded of Mika.

He still hadn't heard back from him.

He wanted to text him, but he wasn't sure what to say without sounding weird.

Should he just open it out with an apology? That seemed awkward. What were they even angry about? What if Mika was still mad about whatever they mad about?

Some people hated apologies through text messages too… What if Mika was one of those people and he just ended up making the situation worse?

Shinoa ordered way more food than necessary, but fortunately paid for it all—she claimed that was her gift to him— and as the Sun began to set they took to watching a couple movies.

At a point, Yuu's mind tried to push the Mika situation somewhere in the back and focus on the movie. He regretted not following Mitsuba's example and indulging himself with a whole bottle of whiskey. It didn't take long before she was piss faced drunk and forgetting all her worries.

Not long after that did Kimizuki grab her and begin lugging her out to take her, as well as Shinoa and Yoichi home.

"Night, Yuu-san!"

"Goodnight, Yuu!"

"Night, guys! I'll see you all tomorrow!" Yuu waved off at the two of them with a grin as they followed after Kimizuki who was buckling in the ponytailed blonde to the backseat of his car within the driveway.

Once they all got into the car and drove off, Yuu returned back within his house with a sigh.

Thankfully, they all helped him clean and pack up the remaining bits of food before they all left.

He'd been sure to save a large piece of cake for Guren and Shinya for tomorrow too.

Yuu took his steps to the stairs with a yawn.

The day went by so quickly, but he still felt exhausted.

He took his phone out from his pocket to look at the time.

11:18 pm.

It wasn't late, but he'd give so much for it to be 8 pm just so he would have more hours to sleep before getting up for class tomorrow.

Well, the thought of skipping came to mind and he could always just convince Guren to let him slide since the party kept him up a little late.

Yuu closed the door behind himself as he entered his bedroom.

He didn't feel like showering tonight. He'd just have to do it in the morning—

Yuu found his entire world screeching to a sudden stop as the unmistakable sound of a fist knocking on glass made it to his ears.

His heart practically dropped and he found his eyes widening while he snapped his attention over to his covered balcony door.

He basically sprinted over to the glass door as fast as he could manage, practically crashing into it.

Fucking Christ, if he missed Archangel again he was going to be pissed off.

He gripped the dark curtains before quickly pushing them aside to give himself a view of outside.

Sure enough, he was there.

The male's back was turned to Yuu, but with his positioning it was obvious he was about to climb onto the ledge of the balcony to leave.

Yuu didn't waste another second.

"Wait, wait, wait!" He exclaimed loudly as he struggled to open the balcony door. "Hold on, don't go yet!"

He grunted, entirely unwilling to look away from the golden masked male that now turned to gaze over his shoulder curiously.

Yuu tossed the sliding door to the side before stumbling out.

His breathing was heavy and he cursed lowly at how damn difficult it was to get out the _one_ time it was urgent.

Archangel turned his upper body a bit more to face Yuu more and Yuu was given sight of the mess of clothes and pair of boots he held in his arms.

He wore an exact replica of the outfit Yuu had washed for him that was currently in his grasp. His hood was pulled up over his head, giving Yuu minimal view of anything on his face aside from his lips due to his mask. Pieces of his blond hair were visible over the upper part of it.

It took a couple seconds for Yuu to realize he had been just stuck standing there gaping at him like some weirdo.

Archangel was probably waiting for him to say something.

Oh, fuck.

He felt his brain begin to melt down.

Every single planned thought and conversation he had ever imagined himself having with Archangel within the past week were incinerated on the spot.

He couldn't remember anything.

All the hypothetical, realistic and even impossible scenarios his mind concocted in the shower, before bed, or even when he was just walking to class were entirely gone from his memory.

But he had to say something. He probably looked like a huge fool just staring there.

"I… Uh… You…" Yuu tried to collect himself, but he could feel his nerves beginning to catch up on him while his face started warming up exponentially. "I was starting to think you wouldn't come back…" He settled on the first thing that came to mind and he felt so stupid after the words left his mouth.

Archangel said give him a _week_ to come back and it had only been like two days.

He probably sounded so desperate and pathetic.

So much for playing it cool.

However, despite the fact he expected his poorly chosen words to earn him Archangel's confusion or discomfort, the other male's quirked into what appeared to be a genuine smile.

It was a smile that could be identified with either amusement or, Yuu really hoped he wasn't imagining it, _fondness_.

Yuu found his eyes widening at the expression as well as his heart thudding in his chest that much more painfully than before. He could feel his face increasingly heating up and a lump beginning to find its way to his throat.

He couldn't find any other words, but thankfully he didn't need to as the blond put a finger to his own lips.

The gesture made Yuu cease his breathing for a second while his green eyes remained trained on the male's white gloved hands. After a brief passing moment, Archangel moved his hand from before his mouth in favor of pointing his index finger toward the other end of the balcony.

Yuu's eyes immediately followed the direction the still silent male was pointing at and his eyes landed on a lone, plain white envelope.

Instinctively, his steps began leading him over to it in order to lean down and pick it up. He easily opened it, taking out the letter within and unfolding to read the message.

' _Thank you so much for washing my clothes. You really didn't have to, but it was sweet that you did. I appreciate your kindness a lot._

 _Hopefully you had an amazing birthday, Yuuichirou. I'm going to get you a gift very soon, so keep a look out for it!_

– _Sincerely, Your Not-So Secret Admirer'_

He reread it once more. Too suspended in disbelief at the words 'get you a gift' to really register much else.

"W-Wait, are you serious…!?" The dark haired male questioned with a strained voice as he gazed up from the letter.

His green eyes widened when he came to realize that the only person left on the balcony was himself.

Archangel was gone.

He immediately walked over to the spot the blonde had been leaning on before gazing around in an attempt to see if he could catch sight of him somehow.

Yuu's gaze traveled up, down, left, right, and just about everywhere, but when his results came up short he exhaled heavily.

"Damn… You could have at least said goodbye." Yuu mumbled to himself with furrowing brows while he brought his attention back to the note within his hands.

Just as he did with his first letter, he kept rereading it.

Archangel was going to get him a birthday present.

This honestly couldn't be real.

He began making his way back inside his room. He closed the balcony door behind himself all the while his mind repeating the mantra of the craziness of his current situation.

Yuu just met up with Archangel on his balcony. They were nearly within an arm's length apart. Archangel _smiled_ at him. Archangel was getting him a birthday gift.

It was an actual thing that was happening.

This sort of thing only happened in movies and on TV.

He took a seat on the edge of his bed with his mind replaying their meeting once more.

Sure, he kind of made himself look like an idiot at first, but Archangel was endeared by it for some strange reason.

The smile that made its way to Yuu's face refused to go away as the weight of everything that occurred fully came down on him.

Turning 19 wasn't worth a big fuss, but this was by far the best birthday he had ever had.

* * *

From the very moment that Yuu cracked his eyes open to the morning sunlight now beginning to make its way within his room, he just knew for a fact he was not going to any of his classes for the day.

The gentle hum from the central air conditioner filled his room along with the cold stream of air it brought that only made him want to sink further into his sheets.

His dream had been an embarrassing one to say the least.

Archangel was in it.

He sunk deeper into his blankets with a groan as his brain replayed the significant moments of it for him.

He always saw jokes online about people 'catching feelings' for someone else and how they essentially felt like it was a slow drive into hell.

Archangel was about to make Yuu take the wheel on a one way ticket there at this point.

Though Yuu wasn't sure if it was even such a bad thing.

If Archangel was putting the effort to keep interacting with him like this, was it possible the infatuation wasn't one sided?

No. No. No.

He shouldn't even entertain that kind of thought.

Archangel was a _superhero_. There was no way the two of them could even have a chance together.

Yoichi had a brief crush on Archangel, but he somehow managed to get over it…

Yuu could probably ask for some advice on how to do that too.

His hand went beneath his pillow in order to pull out his phone.

He supposed he'd ask if any of his friends were even going to class today. He doubted Mitsuba was and by default Shinoa probably wasn't either.

When he pressed the home button his screen lit up with notifications from last night and one name instantly caught his attention.

Two messages from Mika.

Yuu didn't waste any time in opening up their chat.

 _From: Mika_

 _Hey, Yuu-chan… I'm really sorry about what happened the other day. I was a complete and total ass to you and your friends. If it's okay, I'd like to make it up to you whenever you have time? Wherever we go it'll be my treat. Also… Happy (belated) birthday. I didn't text you yesterday because I was afraid you were still upset about Monday. Sorry again :(_

 _From: Mika_

 _Oh God. Rereading that message makes it look like bribery… That's totally not my intention, sorry._

Honestly, why was Mika so cute?

Yuu took the time to see when the messages were sent and he found himself blinking in surprise at the fact they occurred at around 1 am in the morning.

That had been just about the time he had fell asleep.

 _From: Yuu_

 _Lol we're good no worries! Tbh you weren't even an ass? We all have bad days and stuff it's a part of being human I guess. I actually wanna say sorry for forcing you to sit down when you didn't seem comfortable about it. That was a dick move on my part :/_

 _From: Yuu_

 _And I don't see it as bribery you can just consider that your belated birthday present to me :) we can head to the café again on thursday so yoichi's sis can hook you up with the machitto thingy you like_

Yuu exited out that chat to the group one with his other friends.

 _Yuu: is anyone actually going to class today? lmao_

 _Shinoa: Not I_

 _Mitsuba: Why did you all let me drink the whole damn bottle of liquor? I feel like dying rn_

 _Shinoa: You looked so happy with the bottle lol I couldn't bear to make you part with it_

 _Yoichi: Omg am I the only one here today?_

 _Kimizuki: No, I'm here to be responsible alongside you._

 _Yoichi: Yay!_

 _Yuu: Boooooooooo you guys are nerds_

 _Kimizuki: And you're a dumbass._

 _Yuu: Say that to my face you bitchbaby_

 _Shinoa: Bitchbaby. That's a new one_

 _Kimizuki: What lame ass Tumblr text post did you steal it from?_

 _Yuu: Why are you still texting me? Lmao don't you have class to go to? Nerd ass bitchbaby_

 _Yoichi: Lets just keep it calm guys lol_

 _Shinoa: I can't tell if I'm amused by this exchange or if my IQ is dropping_

 _Kimizuki: Your IQ's probably dropping as fast as mine. Soon we'll all be brainless like Yuu._

 _Mitsuba: Okay it's time to let the chat die now. My headache is going to kill me_

Yuu remained curled up in his bed after this.

He occupied a majority of his morning in bed browsing through different social media apps idly.

Of course at the most random times he would recall his night with Archangel and brain would threaten to short-circuit, nearly causing him to drop his phone flat on his face each and every time.

Eventually, he got up to prepare a small cereal breakfast before planting himself on the couch in front of the TV.

The news was the immediate thing on when he powered it and he paused for a bit to catch on the story that apparently occurred last night.

" _The bodies were found entirely drained of blood. Due to the disfigured states they were discovered in, officials still haven't been able to identify the victims."_

Yuu's eyes widened in surprise at the newswoman that appeared to be filming at some park that wasn't too far from where he lived. It was obviously recorded last night given how dark the scenery around her was.

He took in a spoonful of cereal to his mouth while turning up the volume.

" _Police investigators have already claimed vampires to be the cause of the attacks. There were some remnants of ashes left behind at the scene that they've taken in for research."_

Yuu nearly jumped in surprise at the abrupt vibration on his leg from his phone.

He took his eyes away from the TV in favor of glancing down at the new message he received.

 _From: Mika_

 _Ah… This Thursday? I'll be busy then, sorry_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Whens a good day for you then?_

 _From: Mika_

 _I'm not sure…_ _I think I may be busy for the rest of the week :(_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Do you have a job or something?_

 _From: Mika_

 _Yeah, something like that_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Well you can just tell me a day that works for you and I'm pretty sure I'll be free anyways!_

 _From: Mika_

 _Ahaha I will! Also, thank you for being so understanding Yuu-chan :)_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Lol its no big deal but a more important thing to address is the fact that you seem ready to call me Yuu-chan forever_

 _From: Mika_

 _If you don't want me to I'll stop? I just find it cute lol I think it suits you_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Hmmmmmmm….. it's a tiny bit embarrassing but youre special so you get to call me it as you please, Princess Mika_

 _From: Mika_

 _That was so lame and awkwardly placed oh my god…._

 _From: Yuu_

 _Fuck you it was funny_

 _From: Mika_

 _LOL! If you insist, Prince Yuu-chan_

 _From: Mika_

 _That sounds so damn weird, can we please just leave it as Princess Yuu-chan?_

 _From: Yuu_

 _No_

 _From: Mika_

 _Please?_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Nope_

 _From: Mika_

 _:(_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Don't give me that face_

 _From: Mika_

 _:(_

 _From: Yuu_

 _:(_

 _From: Mika_

 _I don't know what sort of reply I expected, but it wasn't that_

By that time Yuu gazed up from his phone and brought his attention back to the news the story about the vampire incident was over now though and they were discussing the weather for the week.

He resisted the urge to groan.

He had actually been interested in that.

Whatever though.

He took another spoonful of cereal to his mouth before changing the channel.

* * *

The remaining two days of the week dragged by as they usually did.

Yuu found himself now entering a newfound routine.

He woke up, checked his balcony in case Archangel came while he slept, checked his phone, went to shower if he hadn't the night before, went to his classes, studied in the library with his friends, went home and had dinner, did homework and goofed off on the Internet as he potentially waited out for an Archangel visit, and then slept.

Throughout the day he and Mika would text one another religiously too.

It was a decent routine that he could see himself getting accustomed with for however long it needed to be.

When Saturday finally came around and Archangel still hadn't returned, Yuu had a feeling tonight would be the night.

He wasn't sure what was telling him that, but a person could never go wrong with a gut feeling.

This time he was so ready.

He was sure to rehearse what he was going to say so he wouldn't step out like an idiot next time.

Archangel was going to be in awe at his confidence; that much he was also sure about.

At a point in the evening after Kimizuki got off work, Mitsuba insisted they all go to the Saotome family café since Yoichi was working at the moment anyways.

Yuu, Shinoa, Kimizuki, and Mitsuba all sat at a table near the front register while Yoichi was off on the patio outside taking the orders of other customers. Their conversation juggled around on different topics as usual.

Things ranged from their current classes to random, funny moments one of them may have had during the week that they hadn't disclosed to the group chat.

It didn't take long for Shinoa to perk up at the mention of the word 'Halloween' when Kimizuki explained Mirai wanted him to go with her and her friends trick or treating.

The three at the table turned to her curiously.

Shinoa placed her fork down on her plate beside her half eaten slice of vanilla bean cake. Her hands clasped together with a bright smile, "Some girl is throwing a Halloween party next Saturday! We should all go!"

"'Some girl?' Who is she? What's her name? Does she have a criminal record?"

"She's super cute, I think that's what really matters!"

"What!? Seriously! You can't invite yourself to some unknown girl's party just because you think she's cute!"

"Oooh, are you jealous, Mitsu?"

"O-Of course not, you idiot! Anyone with half a brain would know that's dangerous behavior!"

"Anyone with a quarter of a brain would know that's university life behavior. You invite yourself to whatever party you want if you hear about it and get an address."

Yuu's fork hung inside his mouth before he took it out in favor of placing it on his empty plate with a blink. "Going to a Halloween party sounds fun. Sucks that Halloween's not on a weekend this year though." He acknowledged while going over the upcoming dates in his head.

Shinoa nodded her head. "I think that's why she's having it a couple days early! Come on, everyone! Let's go to it! It's been a while since we've gone to a party together!"

As her words came to an end, Yoichi made his way back toward their table before sitting down at a spare seat between Yuu and Kimizuki with a tired breath.

"What have I missed?" He inquired curiously and Kimizuki pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "We're apparently going to a Halloween party next weekend."

Shinoa beamed at him. "It's in our best interest to go! The girl's address is at a really rich area! I imagine we won't have another opportunity like this for a while!" She placed her hand at the center of the table beckoningly. "Put it in if you're down for an exciting Saturday night."

At this, there was clearly a bit of thought on the matter floating through the group.

However, Yuu was the first to raise his hand and rest it on top of hers. "I'll go. If they're rich, the snacks and alcohol should be quality."

The brunet to his left laughed a bit before putting his hand over Yuu's gently. "I'll just tell Tomoe about it later tonight, I'm sure she'll give me the day off!"

"I'll have dance practice, but since the party's at night, I should be able to make it." Mitsuba lowly mumbled as she placed her hand on Yoichi's.

The four of them turned to look at Kimizuki, who released a heavy sigh before he added his hand to the pile. "Yeah, yeah. I may have work, but I'll see if I can call out."

Yuu and Yoichi grinned widely whereas Shinoa brought her hand back in order to give a satisfied clap.

She brushed some of her dangling, purple hair behind her ears while she regarded each of them with a slight smirk to her lips. "We should all coordinate our costumes as a group."

Yuu blankly stared at her. Kimizuki groaned. Yoichi got up and returned to his work with a swift apology. Mitsuba let out a flat, "No."

"Eh!? Why not!?" Shinoa observed her friends' rejection with dramatic disbelief. "There are five of us! That's a perfect number!"

Yuu eyed her, unimpressed before picking up his cup of soda and taking a sip. "Knowing you, you'll make us circus animals and clowns while you're the ringmaster or something."

He wasn't about to go to a Halloween party dressed as a goofy lion just to make Shinoa look better.

"Yeah, that or something equally embarrassing." Mitsuba agreed while Kimizuki chose to ignore the conversation in favor of turning his attention to his phone with a stoic expression to his face.

Shinoa heaved a sigh. "Fine, we'll all be something of equal importance! How about the Sailor Scouts? I'll be Sailor Moon and—"

"No." Yuu, Mitsuba, and Kimizuki interjected in unison.

"I often forget how boring all of you are." Shinoa remarked with a small pout to her lips.

None of them were the least put off by her display.

However, her mention of the Sailor Scouts did bring an idea to Yuu's mind as he lowered his cup from his lips once more.

He tilted his head to the side thoughtfully before he tossed his idea out. "Maybe we can be the Power Rangers?"

Shinoa's amber eyes lit up positively at the suggestion and Mitsuba appeared to consider it for a moment before shrugging.

"Ah, yes, Yuu-san! That's perfect!" She happily exclaimed with an approving bob of her head. "I'm the leader of our squad, so I'm going to be the red ranger. Micchan is our second-in-command, so she'll be blue, Yuu-san, you'll be green, Yoichi will be yellow, and Kimizuki will be pink!"

Kimizuki uncaringly shrugged his shoulders, his eyes not deterring from his phone while he allowed one of his hands to run through his soft pink hair. "That's fair." He simply stated before getting up, "I'm heading to the bathroom. I'll tell Yoichi the plan too."

As he walked off, Mika suddenly came back to Yuu's mind.

He wondered if it'd be okay for him come too.

"Do you guys think it'd be cool if I invited Mika too?" He allowed his thoughts to go out loud.

He had already told them that Mika was apologetic for the way he allowed his bad mood to give a bad first impression and none of them thought ill of him at least.

With his question, Mitsuba and Shinoa both glanced at one another silently before they turned back to him with matching pairs of smiles.

"Go ahead." The blonde encouraged with a nod.

Shinoa allowed her fork to poke at her dessert. "You like him, so of course it's alright." She sang out slightly before taking piece of cake into her mouth.

Yuu beamed at them warmly. "You guys are the best, seriously." Yuu's hand went to his pocket for his phone to begin texting the blonde in question.

 _From: Yuu_

 _Soooo there's going to be a fancy Halloween party next Saturday that my friends and I are heading to. It'd be great if you came too! You down?_

 _From: Mika_

 _I've never been to one of those.. Do I have to get dressed up?_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Duh it's a Halloween party! Wouldn't be complete without costumes!_

 _From: Mika_

 _Hm… I'll see… Parties aren't really my thing though haha_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Pshhh if youre there with me theres a 108% chance youll have a great time just trust me_

 _From: Mika_

 _Well, you're in Statistics so there's no way I can doubt you when you have 108% faith in that_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Let's go costume shopping tomorrow together or sometime during the week if you have time!_

 _From: Mika_

 _Maybe not tomorrow, but definitely sometime this week!_

 _From: Yuu_

 _awesomesauce_

 _From: Mika_

 _Awesomesauce?_

 _From: Yuu_

 _It's just a word jesus mika_

 _From: Mika_

 _Just making sure lol_

After Kimizuki dropped him home, Yuu still had a lot of hope that he'd see Archangel that night.

He locked himself up in his room after greeting Guren for the night and he occupied himself on his laptop watching a drama show that Mitsuba had suggested to the group a couple weeks ago.

Though his mind was only half paying attention to it with the other half attentive to any knocks that could occur at his balcony window.

When Archangel handed him his present, Yuu would thank him for the gift and for saving him that one night weeks ago. After that, Yuu would then proceed to ask him petty, but conversational questions to get some kind of ball rolling between them. Somehow things would snowball from there.

It was a great plan.

He just had to stay up and wait.

…

Three episodes later, Yuu didn't even realize when the hell he fell asleep until he found himself jumping up, startled at the sound of the loud knocks on his bedroom door.

Guren entered, his phone held in one of his hands while the other was in his pants pocket leisurely. He gave Yuu a half lidded stare as the teen tried to collect himself.

"Shinoa's on the phone for you."

Yuu's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he sat up and rubbed at one of his eyes sleepily.

Guren didn't even bother to wait for him to become fully lucid before he handed his phone to the drowsy teen prior to exiting out while saying, "Just give it back to me when you're done."

Yuu slowly found the wheels in his brain beginning to turn as he placed the cell phone to his ear and gazed over at his laptop. The screen had become blank and black from inactivity apparently.

"What's up?" He tiredly questioned into the phone before he let out a yawn.

"Yuu-san, were you sleeping?" Shinoa's voice asked in disbelief. "It's barely even 10. Are you okay?"

Yuu rolled his eyes, his hand going over on his desk to pick up his phone to view the time.

However, the immediate thing he noticed was that he had five missed calls and three texts from Shinoa.

Ignoring that, he observed the white lit time toward the top.

10:16 pm.

As he got up to walk over to his balcony in order to see if Archangel had come by, he plainly replied to his friend, "Shut it. Just tell me what you called for."

After he pulled his curtain aside a bit, he had to let out a small sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the balcony was still empty.

He could breathe a bit easier now. Archangel came a little past 11 yesterday, so he still had time.

"So Mahiru showed me this website where I can get our costumes custom made even down to the helmets. I realized this was necessary because when I was searching for our stuff to buy all together, nowhere sells red ranger costumes in my size nor do they sell pink ranger costumes in Kimizuki's size. Sexism and gender bullshit, I tell you. But I refuse to swap colors, so I'm doing this." She explained simply. "I wanted to put the orders in before 12 am so this way we can get our stuff in about four days, but I need your basic measurements to do that."

Her explanation made him nod his head understandingly. "Alright, alright. Give me a couple minutes. I'll text you the measurements."

"I'm counting on you to do this quickly!"

He hung up the phone before going out to Guren's room to return it.

As he entered his guardian's room where the older male was seated on his bed reading over a bunch of paperwork, Yuu simply tossed the phone beside him. "Do you know where the body tape measure is?"

Guren didn't even bother looking up. "Should be under my bathroom's sink."

Yuu hummed lowly before entering the male's bathroom. He kneeled down before the sink's cupboard before rummaging through the junk within to find the white roll.

He popped his head back out from the bathroom door to look at the stone faced man on the bed with a grin. "You should help me measure myself."

"That isn't something you tell your father. I'm not into that."

"Gross. You're not funny. Seriously, it'll take like two seconds if you help."

There was a brief moment of silence before Guren gave a sigh. He placed his paperwork aside before getting up from his bed to assist the shorter male that now stood with his arms extended outward.

After a bit of struggle due to Yuu's constant movement and Guren's inability to keep a firm grasp on the tape measure, Yuu got what he needed.

He thanked Guren for his assistance before making his way back to his room where he typed up the information and texted it to Shinoa.

Yuu could feel his drowsiness beginning to hit him again, but it wasn't even 11 yet.

He had to stay up for Archangel.

When he closed his bedroom door behind himself, he found his steps taking him over to his balcony door to pull aside the curtain mostly out of instinct.

Even though he knew Archangel couldn't have possibly showed up yet—

 _Shit._

He did.

On the other side of the glass door just sitting on the empty balcony was a pretty wrapped golden gift box with a white bow resting on top of it. Right behind it was a large bouquet of flowers.

This was another moment where Yuu almost forgot how to breathe.

He quickly rushed out. He all but slammed the door to the side as he stepped into the humid and chilly night air with his sights set on the present before him.

A part of him felt terrible for practically ripping open the gift box, but he couldn't satiate his curiosity fast enough.

At the top of the tissue paper within was an envelope that read ' _To: Yuuichirou'_ at the face of it.

Yuu tried to open it as fast as he could manage without tearing anything and when he unfolded the letter, he immediately slowed his reading speed in an attempt for everything to last longer.

' _So this is a bit late, but I hope you enjoy your gift nonetheless._

 _It's no expensive car or designer outfit, but when I saw it, I immediately thought it'd suit you._

 _If you like it, great! I'm glad! But if you don't, you can just leave it out. I'll come back and return it for something more to your tastes soon._

– _Sincerely, Your Not-So Secret Admirer'_

Yuu began moving the tissue paper from within the box and what he found toward the bottom was a black container in felt-like material.

He brought it out of the gift box before attempting to open it.

When it clicked open, he was given sight of a shiny, gold necklace with a small sword pendant resting toward the front.

It was then that Yuu found his heartbeat beginning to race once more.

This was really happening.

It wasn't a dream.

Archangel _really_ just gave him a necklace for his birthday.

An overwhelming feeling began to bubble in his stomach and Yuu could only interpret it as a mix of disbelief, guilt, and euphoria.

The part of him that was guilty, just felt a bit like shit because Archangel only bought him the necklace because his letter must have come off as pushy.

It had been kind of selfish of him to even mention his birthday to him in the first place… He probably pressured him into spending money on him.

But then there was the other part of him that was much louder than this guilt ridden half. This part of him was vibrating with excitement because of the fact that _Archangel_ bought him a gift.

It was like a fairytale.

Now, more than ever, Yuu wished he had caught the hero while he was still on the balcony so he could convince him to return it… Not because he was ungrateful or didn't like it, but because he was sure the thing was expensive.

He gave the night sky a fleeting look.

Wherever Archangel was, the two of them were looking up at the same sky.

That was a pleasing thought at least.

As he turned to head back inside, he took hold of the handle that the bouquet had before bringing it inside.

He placed both the gift box and flowers on his computer desk with a heavy breath.

All forms of sleepiness were expelled from his system at this point.

His attention was brought to the wide array of flowers that were in the arrangement and he couldn't help but smile at it. He was able to recognize a couple pale pink roses among the mess of flowers and he'd be lying if he said it didn't make his smile widen a bit more.

As he turned the bouquet around to fully view around it, he came to notice a little card attached to the side of the basket the flowers were in.

Curiously, Yuu brought his hand over to open it and view its contents.

It was a glossary for the meanings of the flowers in the arrangement.

He instantly perked up.

He had no knowledge of flowers and their meanings besides the obvious ones, so this was good.

 _Bluebells – Gratitude_

 _Yellow Camellia – Longing_

 _Carnation – Love, Fascination, Admiration_

 _Iris – Loyalty_

 _Peony – Bravery_

 _Pink Rose – Trust, Happiness_

 _White Rose – Innocence, Silence, Devotion_

Yuu usually wasn't one for flowers as gifts, but for Archangel he'd gladly take care of these for as long as he could.

Especially with the meanings… If Archangel handpicked them based off of those, Yuu honestly could just die right there on the spot.

He rubbed his hands over his face in an attempt to connect himself with reality once more.

This wasn't a dream.

It was completely real.

He managed to bring himself to take a shower after a while of gawking at his necklace and the flowers. All he could think about were his gifts, unsurprisingly.

When he stepped back into his room, Yuu brought himself before one of his mirrors prior to opening the soft-felt case the necklace was in.

For what felt like the umpteenth time in the past hour or so, he marveled at the golden necklace once more.

However, this time he worked to place it around his neck.

Yuu managed to clasp it in the back before he fiddled with the sword charm that rested on his upper chest.

Archangel's note indicated that the moment the blonde saw the piece of jewelry, he thought of it as a perfect gift for Yuu.

Yuu's face flushed a bit and he nearly slammed his head down on his dresser counter top with a heavy groan.

"Why is he so fucking charming?" He mumbled to himself almost helplessly.

This definitely wasn't going to help his stupid crush in the slightest.

He was so screwed now.

It probably would have been even worse if Yuu had actually managed to meet up with him while he dropped the gifts off, but still, he really wished he'd caught him…

The more he thought about it, the more he began to realize that if Shinoa hadn't come to him about her measuring nonsense, he wouldn't have left his room and missed when Archangel knocked on his balcony window to give him the presents.

As he began making his way into his bed, Yuu pulled up his chat with her on his phone with his dark brows furrowing.

 _From: Yuu_

 _I hate you_

 _From: Shinoa_

 _Lmao_

 _From: Shinoa_

 _That was an instinctive 'lmao' I honestly don't know what I did this time_

 _From: Yuu_

 _Don't worry about that just know that I fucking hate you_

 _From: Shinoa_

 _LMAO_

* * *

 **I keep forgetting to upload these chapters! But anyways, I hope it was enjoyable! Will hopefully try to maintain a steady schedule somehow lol.**


End file.
